Wall Street Journal (07/24/12) Jon Hilsenrath

Continued sluggish economic growth and high unemployment have U.S. Federal Reserve officials anxious about what new steps should be taken to spur activity and hiring. Since the June policy meeting, members of the committee have testified and spoken about the increased need for action, but officials are still unsure of when and how to move. Officials will meet July 31-Aug. 1 and could make a decision to spur economic growth at that time or wait until their September meeting after accumulating additional information about the pace of growth and job gains.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department is expected to report that the economy grew at a rate below 2% in the second quarter after just a 1.9% expansion in the first quarter. The unemployment rate has moved little since January and remained at 8.2% in June.