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The Federal Reserve, after employing a dwindling set of policy options at its last two meetings, may hit the pause button in hopes that the faint signs of the economy’s rebound will grow stronger.

By taking a wait-and-see approach, the Fed would be buying time to assess whether its actions in August and September are having the desired effect of lowering long-term interest rates enough to jump-start growth.

The Fed’s decision will be announced around mid-day Wednesday following two days of closed-door discussions.

The central bank will also release an updated economic forecast and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a news conference to discuss the Fed’s new forecast.

It will be Bernanke’s third news conference after a Fed meeting and will continue a practice he began last April in an effort to give the public a better understanding of the Fed’s decision-making.

Most economists believe the Fed will leave policy unchanged, although it will be a close call.

“It is about 50-50 on whether they will do anything. There is evidence the economy is continuing to grow, but we still have a fundamentally weak economy,” said Brian Bethune, economics professor at Amherst College.

Financial markets in the United States and around the world were jolted Tuesday after Greece’s prime minister made the surprise decision to call a referendum on the country’s latest rescue package. The move sparked fears that the entire debt deal could unravel, that Greece could default on its debt and that the crisis could ripple through the global financial system.

Economists said Europe was sure to be a major discussion topic during the Fed meeting.

“They will talk about Europe, but I don’t expect any action,” said David Jones, head of DMJ Advisors, a Denver-based consulting group. “The Fed will not respond to the problems in Europe until it is clear they are causing a significant weakening in economic activity in the United States.”

David Wyss, former chief economist at Standard & Poor’s, said one reason for the Fed’s reluctance to do more is that they don’t have many policy options left.

“They know they are running out of tools so they don’t want to employ another one unless they have to,” he said.

The economy nearly stalled out during the first six months of the year, with growth slowing to an anemic 0.9 percent, the slowest pace since the recession ended in June 2009 low fee pay day loans.

However, the government reported last week that growth rebounded modestly in the summer with the economy expanding at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September period, the best quarterly performance in a year.

While the economy would have to nearly double from the 2.5 percent rate to make a significant dent in high unemployment, the faster growth at least eases fears of a new recession.

At its Aug. 9 meeting, the central bank approved changing its guidance on future policy to say it hoped to keep a key interest rate, which has been near zero since December 2008, at a record low through at least mid-2013, as long as inflation does not become a threat.

The belief was that such an assurance would give investors more confidence that rates would not begin rising any time soon and help to push long-term rates down farther.

At the next meeting on Sept. 20-21, the Fed voted to shift $400 billion of its holdings from short-term to long-term Treasury securities in another effort to push already low long-term rates down further. These rates are critical for consumers borrowing to buy homes and cars and for businesses borrowing to make investments to expand their operations.

Both the August and September moves were approved on 7-3 votes with three regional bank presidents _ Richard Fisher of Dallas, Charles Plosser of Philadelphia and Narayana Kocherlakota of Minneapolis _ voting no because of concerns the actions raise the threat of future inflation.

That was the largest number of dissents in nearly 20 years from an action by the Federal Open Market Committee, the panel of Fed governors and central bank presidents who meet eight times a year to set interest-rate policies.

On the other side are at least four Fed officials, Vice Chair Janet Yellen, Governor Daniell Tarullo, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and New York Fed President William Dudley who have expressed concerns that the economy is still at risk and may need more support.

If the Fed does move again, many believe it will not occur until either the December meeting or early next year. Some economists believe the likely next change would be a further tweaking of the Fed’s communication efforts.

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Bank of America’s homepage and online banking service were experiencing problems Friday, a day after the company said it would start charging a $5 monthly fee for customers who make debit card purchases.

A message on the bank’s homepage said that page was temporarily unavailable, despite earlier assurances from the bank that the site had been fully restored.

Some customers who tried to sign onto their accounts were greeted with the message that the site was “operating slower than usual” and that the bank was working to restore service.

A spokeswoman for the bank, Tara Burke, said the site had been fully restored for the majority of customers but that some were still experiencing “sporadic” issues.

She said the problems with the website were not the result of hacking but declined to say what was the cause.

Burke said customers who couldn’t sign onto their accounts still could bank via text message, at ATMs and at branches.

Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., is the largest U.S. bank by deposits. It offers customers a free eBanking account if they do all their banking online and at ATMs. Customers are charged an $8.95 monthly fee for the account if they also use branch locations.

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TORONTO

Business and consumer sentiment in the 17 countries that use the euro fell in August, reinforcing fears that the region’s economy will slow in the months ahead as political leaders struggle to contain a crisis over government debt.

The European Union’s economic sentiment index issued Tuesday fell 4.7 points to 98.3 _ the sixth consecutive decline, bringing the indicator below its long-term average of 100.

Germany, the eurozone’s biggest economy, reported the largest drop, and it alone remains above the 1990-2011 average. The Netherlands and Austria, two other countries that have not been drawn into the debt crisis, also saw a significant fall.

The reasons for the decline included gloomier views of the future among retailers, and among consumers afraid of losing their jobs, EU economic officials said in a statement accompanying the index numbers.

Additionally, industrial managers are concerned about weaker future export orders and inventories that may be overstocked for upcoming demand.

Economists and government officials say the economy is starting to be affected by financial market ups and downs caused by fears that some governments may not be able to repay their debts. Stock and bond markets fell sharply in early August amid fears that efforts by eurozone government leaders would not be enough to keep the crisis from spreading to Italy and Spain. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have already taken bailout loans from other eurozone governments and the International Monetary Fund to avoid default, but Italy in particular is considered too big to rescue.

European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told EU lawmakers on Monday that the market volatility was now affecting the real economy.

The European Central Bank has fought the market turmoil for three weeks by buying Italian and Spanish government bonds to reduce financial pressure on those countries, but governments are still struggling to reduce debt and find a more permanent solution guaranteed pay day loans. Leaders agreed July 21 to give new powers to the eurozone’s euro440 billion ($637 billion) bailout fund, enabling it to take over the bond purchases from the ECB and loan money quickly to troubled governments, but national parliaments have not yet ratified those changes.

Economist Christopher Weil at Commerzbank predicted the eurozone would slow but not fall into recession _ unless the debt crisis unleashes a shock to the financial system like the one after the bankruptcy of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Even if there’s no recession, weaker growth will make the debt crisis harder to deal with, he said.

“The downturn in countries with a strong credit standing could exacerbate the debt crisis; their possibilities and presumably also readiness to help the crisis-stricken countries fall accordingly,” Weil wrote in a research note to investors.

The EU forecasts 1.6 percent growth this year for the eurozone, but those predictions are due to be lowered on Sept. 15. Easing growth in Germany has been a key reason; gross domestic product grew by a scant 0.1 percent in the second quarter.

The European Central Bank has indicated it is reassessing its inflation outlook, a sign that its key interest rate may be on prolonged hold at 1.5 percent after quarter point increases in April and July.

The EU sentiment index fell further, to 97.3, for the entire 27-member European Union, which includes countries that do not use the euro. Britain showed a sharp drop of 5.6 points because sentiment was down sharply in the services sector.

The economic index combines indicators for business and consumers: 40 percent industrial confidence, 30 percent services, 20 percent consumers, 5 percent construction and 5 percent retail.

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Asian stock markets rose in early trading Monday, after Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s prediction of long-term economic growth for the U.S. helped fuel a Wall Street rebound.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5 percent to 8,845.19. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 jumped 1.7 percent to 4,270.60 and New Zealand’s NZX 50 rose 0.6 percent to 3,314.28.

Gold-related shares rose after prices of the precious metal rebounded Friday after a volatile week. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold miner, rose 1 percent.

On Friday in New York, gold for December delivery rose $34.10 to finish at $1,797.30 an ounce after nearly hitting $1,900 an ounce as Monday’s trading ended.

The euro was slightly down at $1.4482 from $1.4484 in late trading in New York. The dollar rose to 76.74 yen from 76.66 yen.

Market optimism was fueled Friday by a highly anticipated speech by Fed chief Bernanke at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. While he announced no new economic stimulus measures, as some investors had hoped, he did leave open the possibility of more action if another recession looks likely _ and he also emphasized the strengths of the U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.2 percent to close at 11,284.54. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.5 percent to 1,176.80. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 2.5 percent to 2,479.85.

The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term interest rates low until mid-2013. Low rates on investments like bonds make higher-risk bets such as stocks more attractive.

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If the delicate compromise among Missouri lawmakers holds up through next month’s special session, the future of the state’s popular historic tax credit program will look much like the program did flexcheck cash advance… last year.

The plan expected to go before the House and Senate would cut the annual cap on historic credits

Shares of Dunkin’ Donuts parent company are set to start trading Wednesday morning after pricing at $19 per share, more than the $16 to $18 range it predicted two weeks ago.

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., which also owns the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain, sold about 22.3 million shares. That means it raised about $423 million before deducting underwriting expenses.

The underwriters, which include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley & Co., and Barclays Capital Inc., also have the option to buy 3.3 more million shares in the next month. If they do, Dunkin’ would raise about $486 million.

Either way, Dunkin’ would raise more than it originally forecast: When the company first announced its intentions to go public in May, it said it expected to raise about $400 million.

Dunkin’ Brands said it plans to use the money to pay down its substantial debt.

The company, based in Canton, Mass., wants to grow outside its U.S. stronghold, the Northeast. It also is expanding internationally, with South Korea and the Middle East on its radar. The company says it has no plans to pay shareholder dividends “for the foreseeable future.”

The company’s current owners, a coterie of three private equity firms, will continue to play a powerful role at the company even after it goes public.

Together, Bain Capital Partners, Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners will own as much as 78 percent of the public Dunkin’ Brands, which will make it nearly impossible for any dissident shareholders to effect substantial changes. The three firms control six of the nine seats on the board of directors.

Shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “DNKN.”

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Premier Wen Jiabao has underlined China’s support for Europe and the euro as it grapples with its debt crisis, insisting that Beijing has confidence in the 17-nation currency.

Wen said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday that if Europe has difficulties, China will “reach out our helping hand.” He pointed to Chinese purchases of European bonds.

Wen says China is confident in Europe because it includes countries such as economically strong Germany and it has a skilled work force, among other reasons. He says the current difficulties are “only of temporary nature.”

Merkel says she assured Wen that Germany will do everything to ensure eurozone countries’ competitiveness but also the “necessary degree of solidarity.”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

BERLIN (AP) _ German and Chinese leaders on Tuesday pledged a big increase over the next few years in trade between their countries, the biggest economies of Europe and Asia, while China’s premier downplayed Europe’s current economic woes.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed Premier Wen Jiabao and many of his ministers to Berlin, a reception that underlined Germany’s hopes of deepening political and economic ties with fast-rising China.

Merkel said at a joint economic forum that Germany and China want to increase their annual bilateral trade volume to euro200 billion ($284 billion) by 2015.

Trade between China and Germany totaled just over euro130 billion last year, a 38.5 percent increase compared with 2009. China was the No. 7 buyer of German exports, at euro53.6 billion; and it led the list of importers to Germany, which bought Chinese goods and services worth euro76.5 billion.

Wen, speaking after Merkel, voiced hopes that the countries could even double their trade volume over five years.

China, which overtook Germany as the world’s biggest exporter in 2009, is now Germany’s third-biggest trading partner _ after France and the Netherlands, and ahead of the United States low interest rate personal loans.

“We both take the view that what is good can become better,” Merkel said. She added that China and Germany are “ideal partners” to develop electric cars for the future, for example, and said both sides want to “deepen our investment relationship.”

Germany has led growth in the 17-nation eurozone over the past year, posting an increase in output of 3.6 percent last year. It has “great opportunities for powerful growth this year” as well, Merkel said. Officials and economists say this year’s growth could total 3 percent or more.

Wen, whose visit to Germany followed stops in Hungary and Britain, stressed that ties with the European Union are of strategic importance to Beijing.

“Some EU countries are currently in economic difficulties,” Wen said in a reference to the debt crisis weighing on countries such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal. “But these are of temporary character.”

China, he said, is “full of confidence” in the EU’s development.

Wen said China is prepared to buy more high-quality German goods but also called for Berlin to quickly grant it formal recognition as a full market economy to help remove obstacles to trade.

He said that “we are not forcing anyone into technology transfer” but urged Germany to seek a loosening of EU export restrictions which, he argued, “significantly limit the export of Germany’s new technologies to China and the international competitiveness of German companies on the Chinese market.”

Merkel, Wen and their ministers were meeting at the chancellery later Tuesday.

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Asian stocks were mostly higher on hopes that a solution to Greece’s debt problems could be near even as talks between eurozone finance ministers broke up early Monday without an agreement.

Oil slipped below $93 a barrel while the dollar strengthened against the euro and yen.

Global stock markets were hammered for most of last week by fears that a default by Greece seemed imminent before rising Friday as hopes grew for a bailout deal. Investors fear a Greek default could set off a domino effect with other weak European economies.

Greece’s prime minister confirmed Sunday his nation was talking with world lenders about a second financial rescue package “roughly equal” to what it received last year. Meanwhile, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, chair of the regular meetings of the 17 eurozone finance ministers, said Greece will get the next euro12 billion of its existing euro110 billion bailout package in early July, but only if it manages to pass new spending cuts and economic reforms by the end of the month.

But he said as long as parliament supports the new measures, he was certain that Greece would also get a second bailout that will keep it afloat over the coming years as it works to restore its struggling economy.

“All eyes remain on Greece,” strategists at Credit Agricole CIB wrote in a research note. They added that “news this morning that the Eurogroup’s final decision on the country’s second bailout package has been delayed until early July will result in more uncertainty filtering through markets no fax payday loan.”

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was 0.6 percent higher at 9,406.84 while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3 percent to 2,038.45. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.4 percent higher at 4,492.60 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.6 percent to 21,823.18. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand also rose while mainland Chinese shares were lower.

On Wall Street last week, the U.S. stock market eked out its first week of gains since April, helped by signs a solution to Greece’s debt problems were near.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.4 percent at 12,004.36. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.3 percent to 1,271.50. The technology-focused Nasdaq composite index lost 0.3 percent to 2,616.48.

Oil prices fell below $93 a barrel in Asia as a stronger U.S. dollar made commodities priced in the greenback more expensive to investors spending foreign currencies.

Benchmark oil for July delivery was down 64 cents to $92.37 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost $1.94, or 2 percent, to settle at $93.01 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude for August delivery was down 95 cents to $112.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

In currencies, the euro slipped to $1.4271 from $1.4315 in late trading Friday in New York. The dollar edged up to 80.13 yen from 80.06 yen.

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The International Monetary Fund said Friday that it expects the U.S. economy to grow at slower pace this year than previously estimated, dragged down by higher oil prices and lower factory output.

The lending organization also warned that the European debt crisis poses a growing threat to the global economy. It cited investors’ increasing concerns that Greece’s government won’t be able to implement the changes necessary to avoid defaulting on its debt.

The U.S. is forecast to grow 2.5 percent this year, down from the IMF’s April estimate of 2.8 percent. Growth will likely be 2.7 percent next year, the IMF said, rather than 2.9 percent. Both estimates are below the 2.9 percent growth the U.S. recorded in 2010. The global economy will likely grow 4.3 percent this year, down from an earlier estimate of 4.4 percent.

The lower U.S. forecast is similar to many recent downgrades by private economists. A survey this month of 38 economists by The Associated Press found that they expect growth of 2.6 percent this year, down from an earlier estimate of 2.9 percent.

By contrast, the IMF boosted its forecast for the 17-nation euro area, which it said it expects to grow 2 percent this year. That’s compared to a previous forecast of 1.6 percent Low fee payday loans. The improved outlook is largely due to higher business investment spending in Germany and France.

Large budget deficits in the U.S. and Japan could threaten their economies, the IMF said.

Both countries should take steps to cut their deficits, but at a gradual pace, the IMF said. Rapid spending cuts or tax increases could threaten the two countries’ “tepid recoveries.”

“For the U.S., it is critical to immediately address the debt ceiling and launch a deficit reduction plan that includes entitlement reform and revenue-raising tax reform,” the fund said.

The Obama administration and Republican lawmakers are negotiating over how to raise the nation’s legal debt limit of $14.3 trillion, which the administration says it will reach Aug. 2. Republicans are insisting on about $2 trillion in cuts over 10 to 12 years before agreeing to raise the ceiling.

The Washington-based fund has 187 member nations and lends money to countries in financial distress. It has played a key role in negotiating and financing European Union bailout packages for Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

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