Free Republic

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voted to end the last leg of its bond-buying stimulus program, cutting purchases of Treasury's and mortgage-back securities to zero from $15 billion starting on Nov. 1. The central bank also sounded more upbeat about the labor market and said it doesn't expect falling energy prices to hold inflation down in the long run. For the first time, the Fed explicitly said it could raise interest rates sooner than markets expect if the economy grows faster than the bank projects.