There has been no change to key short-term interest rates. This was the second consecutive meeting with no change and was widely expected. The post-meeting statement indicated that the Fed was aware and considered the economic slowdown but also was quite concerned about the threat of inflation. That created concern in the bond market since inflation erodes the value of a bond's future fixed interest payments.

However, bonds have actually held up quite well.  The stock markets have extended their earlier gains with the Dow up 11,615.77, 331.62 points.