HERE COMES THE FED...

Heads up! We are minutes away from the release of the most-anticipated FOMC statement of the year, due out at 2 PM ET.

At 2:30, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a press conference and Q&A with reporters.

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The Federal Reserve has been buying $85 billion a month of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities since introducing its third round of quantitative easing (QE3) exactly a year ago, at the conclusion of the FOMC's September 2012 policy meeting.

Wall Street expects the FOMC to elect to make the first move toward "tapering" QE3 today with the announcement of a reduction in bond-buying of $10 billion a month, bringing total monthly purchases to $75 billion.

Given the possible negative implications of a tapering for the bond market, the Fed is also expected to announce a change to its "forward guidance" thresholds, which dictate how long the Fed's other policy stimulus tool, the federal funds rate, will remain pinned near zero. The Fed has said it won't consider raising interest rates until the unemployment rate falls to 6.5% (from the current 7.3% rate). At today's meeting, it could lower that unemployment rate threshold, suggesting rates will stay lower for longer - likely a positive development for markets.

The Fed will also be releasing updated economic forecasts of FOMC members for 2014-2015, as well as the first forecasts for 2016.

We will have the full statement LIVE at 2 PM ET, followed by complete coverage of Bernanke's presser. Click here to refresh for the latest updates »