Federal Reserve Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

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WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve policymakers Tuesday left unchanged the overnight bank lending rate at 5.5 percent, content with the U.S. economy's ability to grow without sending prices higher.

"Inflation is a non-event," said Anthony Chan, chief economist at Banc One Investment Advisors in Columbus, Ohio, noting Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has made it clear in speeches and congressional testimony this year that the central bank's enemy is inflation, not growth.

Given that, Greenspan has shown a willingness to experiment to see how fast the economy can expand beyond the Fed's oft-stated non- inflationary target of 2.5 percent before the Fed needs to step on the …