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The Federal Reserve said it would end its long-running bond-purchase program, concluding a historic experiment that stirred disagreement among policy makers, economists and investors about its impact even though the central bank said it helped accomplish its goal of reducing unemployment.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/fed-ends-bond-buys-sticks-to-0-rate-for-considerable-time-1414605953

nearly six years and more than $4 trillion in purchases later, central bank policymakers declared Wednesday that the economy is strong enough for the Fed to end the unprecedented program.

In their statement following a two-day meeting, Fed officials gave their best assessment of the labor market in years, citing the "solid" job gains in recent months and the faster-than-expected drop in the unemployment rate, which fell to 5.9% in September.

Most see that first rate hike coming in the middle of next year, but some analysts have pushed those expectations to later next year because of the uncertain growth prospects in major economies around the world.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-federal-reserve-stimulus-20141030-story.html#page=1