• Following strong GDP growth in the first half of the year, "household spending and business investment flattened out this quarter," as labor market issues and supply bottlenecks weighed on the economy, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during the FOMC's post-decision press conference.
• Supply constraints have been longer lasting than originally anticipated, Powell said. The timing of resolving supply bottlenecks remain uncertain, he said.
• "Economic growth should pick up this quarter," he said, resulting in strong growth for the year.
• Unemployment was 4.8% in September, which he said understates labor market conditions, he added.
• 3:26 PM ET:Press conference ends.
• 3:25 PM ET:"People are quitting their jobs at all-time record numbers," but they went to other often better-paying jobs, he said. "We expect labor force participation to pick up, but we don't know the pace," Powell noted.
• 3:17 PM ET:There's no news on the supplementary leverage ratio for banks. The Fed is looking at way to address liquidity issues through that channel, he added.
• 3:15 PM ET: The Fed will address balance sheet issues in future meetings, he said. In other words, whether it will  reinvest or reduce the overall size.
• 3:10 PM ET:Powell says, " I don't think we're behind the curve," adding that the Fed is prepared for a range of eventualities. "We will adapt as appropriate."
• 3:04 PM ET: The Fed's role in climate change issues relates to its mandates, Powell said, and "there's also a financial stability question." "We're not the people to decide the national strategy on climate change." That's for elected officials, he said.
• 3:02 PM ET: "The risk, for now, appears to be skewed toward higher inflation," Powell said. "Bottlenecks should be abating. They haven't gotten better overall, and we're aware of that."
• 2:56 PM ET: "We don't meet the liftoff test, because we're not at maximum employment," Powell said. The economy met the test for tapering asset purchases, but the FOMC didn't discuss when it might raise rates.
• At 2:52 PM ET, all three major U.S. stock averages are in the green: the Dow rises 0.2%, the Nasdaq increases 0.8%, and the S&P gains 0.5%. 10-year Treasury yield slips back to 1.57%.
• 2:52 PM ET: Powell explains the meaning of "transitory" in that "it won't become a permanent feature of life."
• 2:43 PM ET:"At this point we don't see troubling increases in wages," but the Fed will be monitoring it carefully. He attributes the inflationary pressures to supply bottlenecks and demand, not due to the tight labor market.
• 2:42 PM ET: The U.S. could reach maximum employment next year. "It's within the realm of possibility," Powell said.
• Update at 2:39 PM ET: "We don't think it's time yet to raise interest rates," Powell said. The focus of this meeting was on tapering asset purchases.
• "We should see inflation moving down by second or third quarter (of next year)."
• Earlier, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates near zero and set its plan to start the taper.