Hanging on Fed's Every Word

The Federal Reserve is all but certain to leave interest rates unchanged at 1.75% -- their lowest level in four decades -- when it announces its decision on monetary policy on Wednesday afternoon.

Also a near guarantee is that the Central Bank will maintain its neutral bias, which means that it will say the risks of weakness in the economy are balanced with the risks of price inflation.

What remains unclear -- or at least debated -- is how the Fed's statement will differ from its one in May. On Wall Street, opinions vary about what Chairman Alan Greenspan will say about the strength of the economic recovery, which picked up speed at the beginning of the year but has shown signs of slowing lately. ...