Fed Under Pressure Amid Confusion Over New Easing

Federal Reserve officials are under pressure to avoid creating confusion among investors about any new effort to spur the U.S. recovery.

The Federal Open Market Committee, which meets today, triggered a stock selloff with its last statement on Aug. 10 as investors took it as a signal the economy will falter. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index tumbled 7.1 percent during the two weeks following the statement after reaching a three-month high on Aug. 9. The MSCI World Index fell 7.3 percent.