For Fed, delivering a message on policy path is new focus

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO: Now that the central question before the Federal Reserve has shifted from whether to cut its extraordinary stimulus to when exactly to pull back, the debate at next week's meeting will center on how best to communicate that plan.

While recent and brisk improvements in the labor market have raised the chance that policymakers might taper at the upcoming policy meeting, on Dec. 17-18, most expect the Fed to keep its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program in place.