By Steve Goldstein
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve is due to release its interest-rate decision and accompanying statement at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, with the central bank widely expected to maintain the Fed funds target rate between 0% and 0.25% and also wind down the $600 billion bond buying program at the end of the month. The accompanying statement will be of most interest to the market, particularly after a weak spell of economic data. The Fed at 2 p.m. will release its updated growth, inflation and unemployment forecast, and at 2:15 p.m. Chairman Ben Bernanke will start his press conference.
