(RECAP: Amid a moribund economy and reduced levels of consumer spending, the Fed on Wednesday again opted not to raise interest rates. “Economic activity appears to have slowed,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement released after its two-day meeting this week. “Growth in household spending has moderated, although households’ real income has risen at a solid rate and consumer sentiment remains high.” Prominently missing from the statement was a “balance of risks” assessment, a mainstay of Fed communiques in which the Fed described how conditions were shaping up compared to its expectations. Fed watchers have taken the absence of the language from the past two statements as indications that FOMC officials remain concerned about growth both domestically and internationally.)

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