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The U.S. economy has strengthened, but not enough for the government to pare down its bond-buying program, according to the latest Fed minutes. In late 2010, investments rose and the job market improved -- but the housing market remained depressed.

For the 22nd-straight month, the central bank kept its target interest rate at 0% to 0.25%. It made no new asset purchases and no changes to QE2, its $600 billion, eight-month bond-buying program. Housing and hiring are two main areas of concern in a slow-growth economy.

Silver prices touched a 30-year high Monday as investors sought the safety of precious metals. Inflation concerns are running high after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank is considering a third round of qualitative easing.

The Fed%u2019s latest Beige Book report finds that economic growth has increased but also that the economy is still growing well below its potential and too slowly to substantially lower unemployment.

The Fed says it expects the U.S. economy to grow weakly in both 2010 and 2011, with as many as six years needed to return unemployment to normal levels.

The world economy is poised for more of the same in 2011: booming growth in China, India and Brazil, and a sluggish crawl in much of the rest of the developed world. Here are the five most important factors driving sluggish economic growth in the U.S.

Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, commented on the Federal Reserve's plan to buy $600 billion of long-term assets, saying that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke should "cease and desist." "We shouldn't be playing around with inflation," Palin said in remarks prepared for a Monday speech in Phoenix,...

After initially voting for the QE2 plan, Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh said in a speech Monday that the government's decision to buy $600 million worth of bonds to spur the economy is a bad idea.

Goldman Sachs (GS) economists defended Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's decision to pump billions of dollars into the economy, saying the move will boost economic growth. The Fed's plan to buy $600 billion of assets will improve growth and reduce the risk of deflation, economist Jan...

Stocks closed essentially unchanged Friday as mixed economic news and earnings data failed to distract traders from next week's mid-term elections and Federal Reserve policy statement.