WASHINGTON Federal Reserve expected to keep interest rates low

Positive comments from Greenspan sent stocks soaring Monday.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- With jobs still hard to come by, the Federal Reserve is expected to keep promising to leave interest rates at rock bottom for a "considerable period" at its first meeting of 2004 this week.
However, there is uncertainty over just what the phrase "considerable period" may mean.
Before an extremely weak unemployment report showed that the economy managed to create just 1,000 jobs in December, many analysts and investors thought the central bank would start raising interest rates as early as this spring to ensure that a booming economy did not set off inflation pressures.
However, that view is being reassessed in light of the December unemployment report, which raised concerns that the economy could still be in the grips of a jobless recovery two years after the 2001 recession ended.
Expectations
Because of the weak jobs picture and dormant inflation, most economists are betting the Fed will put out a statement once again pledging to keep rates low "for a considerable period," a phrase that has shown up in the last four Fed statements, going back to last August.
"The Fed is not going to move until they see several months in a row of strong employment numbers, and that has not happened yet," David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & amp; Poor's, said Monday.
Wall Street took cheer Monday from comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan that the economy would be able to recoup the more than 2 million jobs lost since the last recession.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 134.22 points to close Monday at 10,702.51, its highest finish in 31 months.