Associated Press | Federal Reserve officials have a slightly brighter view of the economy than they did at the start of the year. Fed officials say in a new forecast that they think the economy can
grow between 3.2 percent and 3.7 percent this year. That’s an upward
revision from a growth range of 2.8 percent to 3.5 percent in their
January forecast.

The Fed’s latest forecast sees the unemployment rate, now at 9.9 percent, dipping to between 9.1 percent and 9.5 percent by year’s end. In the January forecast, the Fed didn’t think unemployment would dip below 9.5 percent this year. The Fed prepared the latest forecast for its April meeting.

Most Fed officials preferred strategies that would “eventually” lead to
the sale of mortgage securities to shrink the Fed’s $2.3 trillion
balance sheet. But they differed on the timing and the details.

Separately, some officials worried the European debt crisis could shake Wall Street and possibly slow the U.S. recovery.