Fed holds interest rates steady

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged for the fourth time this year, deciding to keep the cost of borrowing money low as the U.S. economy works its way toward solid ground. The federal funds rate will stay at 1.75 percent, its lowest level since 1961. The funds rate is the interest that banks can charge each other for overnight loans. Wall Street largely expected the Fed to hold rates steady this time, and believes that it will start to raise rates later in the year as the economy gets stronger. The Fed took an ax to interest rates last year as the economy slid toward a recession and enacted a series of 11 cuts, including three that were unscheduled. The Fed's policy-making committee will meet again Aug. 13. --Sam Ames, Special to ZDNet News