WASHINGTON Cheap Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys , Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve reaffirmed on Wednesday that a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy remains appropriate and it decided to make a further measured reduction in the pace of its asset purchases.


Beginning in October, the Fed will continue to trim its monthly bond purchase program by 10 billion U.S. dollars to 15 billion dollars per month Cheap St. Louis Blues Jerseys , staying on track to end the program later this year.


"It likely will be appropriate to maintain the current target range for the federal funds rate for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends," the Fed said in a statement released after a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Cheap San Jose Sharks Jerseys , the Fed's chief body for monetary policy.


Before the meeting, the market expected the Fed might reword the "considerable time" language in Wednesday's statement in view of the country's strong economic data over the past few months.


The Fed said "the economic activity is expanding at a moderate pace since July." In its previous monetary policy statement in July Cheap Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys , the Fed believed the economy rebounded in the second quarter.


Meanwhile, labor market conditions improved somewhat further Cheap Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys , but the unemployment rate is little changed and a range of labor market indicators suggests there remains significant underutilization of labor resources, said the Fed Cheap Ottawa Senators Jerseys , a similar wording to its previous statement.


The central bank also noted household spending "appears to be rising modestly" and business fixed investment "is advancing," while the recovery in the housing sector "remains slow." This wording remained unchanged compared to its previous statement.

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RIO DE JANEIRO， May 12 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Senate Thursday voted to continue the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff， suspending her from office for 180 days.


The Senate gave the go-ahead to the impeachment trial by 55-22 in the early hours of Thursday after over 20 hours of heated discussion， with each lawmaker claiming to have acted in the public interest and have the law on his or her side.


Unlike in the lower-house voting， which took place in April， Brazilian Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo， who is defending the president， had the chance to speak before the vote.


Senator Angela Portela from the ruling Workers' Party also said that the opposition has ""an uncontrollable desire to subvert the result of the election，"" stressing that the impeachment was not logical as it was based on alleged mistakes made in last year's accounts， which have yet to be appraised by the Accounts Court.


She also warned about the social impact， saying ""we will be removing a victorious government proposal and a generous project to redesign our society， a project which foresees inclusion， protection of minorities， reduction of inequalities and economic growth with justice.""


Another Workers' Party Senator， Joao Viana， said that ""it is not fair to do what they (the opposition) are doing to the Brazilian democracy. They are not taking down President Dilma， they are taking down popular vote.""


For its part， the opposition insisted on its stance. Senator Magno Malta from the Party of the Republic compared the impeachment to a surgical operation.


""Brazil today is like a diabetic， feverish body， with a leg infected with gangrene， ready to be amputated，"" he said， adding ""if we amputate the leg， we save the body; by not amputating the leg， we compromise the entire body.""


The immediate consequence of Thursday's voting is that Rousseff will be removed from office temporarily until the Senate submits the case to a final trial， which will happen in up to 180 days. Vice President Michel Temer will take over in the period.


Considering the fact that the opposition managed to get two-thirds in the first voting， more than the votes needed to impeach the president in the final trial， the government's chance is slim.