A comparison of the Federal Reserve's statements from its two-day meeting that ended Wednesday and its meeting on Sept. 12-13:

IMMEDIATE STEPS:

September: The Fed launched an aggressive new effort to bolster the economy by making borrowing cheaper for years to come. Its plan is to buy mortgage bonds for as long as it deems necessary and to keep interest rates at record lows until mid-2015. In a statement, the Fed's Open Market Committee said: "To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at the rate most consistent with its dual mandate, the committee agreed today to increase policy accommodation by purchasing additional agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month."

October: The program will continue: "To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at the rate most consistent with its dual mandate, the committee will continue purchasing additional agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month."

CONSUMER SPENDING:

Then: "Household spending has continued to advance."

Now: "Household spending has advanced a bit more quickly."

INFLATION:

Then: "Inflation has been subdued, although the prices of some key commodities have increased recently. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable."

Now: "Inflation recently picked up somewhat, reflecting higher energy prices. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable."