(Image source: FDIC )     BY CHARLIE MCKEAGUE     The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it will continue its bond-buying program as scheduled, and interest rates will remain low. Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke for the first time since he hinted at tapering quantitative easing.   “The committee currently anticipates that it will be appropriate to moderate the monthly pace of purchases later this year. ... We will continue to reduce the pace of purchases in measured steps through the first half of next year ending purchases around mid-year.”  (Via CNBC )   Analysts were expecting the chairman to give guidance for the U.S. economy — which he did — but also expected word on whether he would be staying on for a third term. And on that issue, Bernanke declined to comment.   Upon the news the Fed would continue bond buying, the bond market spiked and the dollar jumped up, but the stock market fell sharply.   The Federal Reserve also announced good news for the U.S. economy, saying the housing market is in the middle of a strong recovery and the unemployment rate is expected to keep declining to less than 7 percent.   So then why is the Fed moving so slowly toward normalization? As a writer for The New York Times points out, if interest rates rise too fast or bond buying tapers too fast ...   --“[The Fed] might ... [stop] funneling profits to the Treasury, further damaging the government’s fiscal position.” --“Bond investors will lose money as the value of long-term bonds declines.” --“Perhaps they will choke off the recovery in housing.” --“Perhaps rising interest rates will prompt a sell-off in the stock market.”   The stock market under Bernanke has seen one of the biggest bull markets in history, more than doubling since its bottom in March 2009. Since QE1, the S&P is up 77 percent. But with much uncertainty looming in the stock and bond markets, an analyst for Fox News says get into real estate — or refinance your mortgage — while you still can.   “You and I have been saying on this show for the last two to three years, buy a house, buy a house. The rates are down, and the prices are down. The market is starting to heal, and so if you are in a buyer's position, certainly lock in your interest rates.”   Most members of the Federal Open Market Committee said they don’t expect to see the first rate increase until 2015.