At the same meeting of the open market committee where it announced Quantitative
Easing 3, the Fed chose to also announce that its currently low Fed funds rate of 0 to
.25% would be maintained until at least the middle of2015. Previously it had merely said
that it would keep that rate low until early 2014. Why would changing investors'' expectations that the Fed would keep the overnight Fed Funds rate at its current low level for at least 18 montl1s longer thar1 previously promised be helpful to the Fed at this time.