The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that near-zeroshort-term interest rates are likely to remain in place “”at leastthrough late 2014.''

The decision, which was announced following a meeting of thecentral bank's policymaking Federal Open Market Committee, was madebecause of sluggish economic growth, according to a newsrelease.

The Fed noted that while “indicators point to some furtherimprovement in overall labor market conditions, the unemploymentrate remains elevated. Household spending has continued to advance,but growth in business fixed investment has slowed, and the housingsector remains depressed.