Fed Says Unemployment Could Top 10%

(Update: Signficantly expands insight into the June Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee meeting.)

In June, the financial wizards at the Federal Reserve announced that they were leaving its key interest rate untouched. Today, we received a little peek behind the wizards' curtain.

Released this afternoon, minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee meeting in June revealed that officials were both hopeful and dour in their assessments of the economy and forecasts for the future.

Data since their April meeting demonstrated to the group that "the economic contraction was slowing and that the decline in activity could cease before long." But because of rising unemployment, weakened spending and tighter credit, the minutes show that many of the officials thought the economy was "still quite weak," with potential for "further shocks" to come. ...