MINUTES OF THE SEPT 18 FOMC MEETING: SOME MEMBERS WORRIED THAT TAPER WOULD INCREASE MARKET RATES; TAPER WAS A CLOSE CALL FOR MANY VOTING MEMBERS - Officials who were against tapering were disappointed by recent figures, many wanted a cautious path toward slowing of bond purchases - meeting participants regarded the information received during the intermeeting period as indicating that economic activity had continued to expand at a moderate pace, albeit somewhat more slowly than earlier anticipated, and they generally indicated that the broad contours of the outlook further out had not changed materially since their July meeting - In discussing labor market developments, a number of participants indicated that gains in payrolls in the July and August employment reports were disappointing, but one participant also noted that seasonal adjustment tended to be challenging during the summer months. - Despite the continued improvement in household balance sheets, a number of factors were mentioned as possible restraints on spending, including declines in consumer confidence, concerns about job security and availability, and the lingering effects of this year's payroll tax increase - While downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market were generally viewed as having diminished, on balance, since last fall, a number of significant risks remained, including those related to the potential economic effects of the sizable increases in interest rates since the spring, ongoing fiscal drag, and the possible fallout from near-term fiscal debates
- reference: {http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomcminutes20130918.htm}