Here comes the Fed ...

Here it is: the Fed's big announcement.

At 2:00 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest monetary policy decision along with an updated outlook on the economy, inflation, and the labor market.

This announcement will also be followed by a press conference from Fed chair Janet Yellen at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Expectations are that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged, but the Fed could lay groundwork for an interest rate hike as soon as the September FOMC meeting.

In a note to clients earlier on Wednesday, however, strategists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch noted that the last time the Fed was 3 months away from a rate hike it didn't exactly make clear that rate hikes were coming.

Back in 2004 the Fed said in March that, "With inflation quite low and resource use slack, the Committee believes that it can be patient in removing its policy accommodation."

In June it raised rates for the first of 17 consecutive meetings.

We'll be back with complete coverage of the statement, market reaction, and updates from the Fed to its GDP outlook and of course, the "Dot Plot" at the top of the hour.

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