Federal Reserve Votes to Keep Rates Low

The U.S. economic recovery is so fragile right now that it cannot sustain another headwind.

That's essentially what the Federal Reserve said when it voted Wednesday to leave short-term interest rates at their historically low levels, in a move that was widely expected.

A rate hike was extremely unlikely this month given the sharp decline in job creation in May, weak domestic economic growth, and continued worries over events abroad.