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The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it would continue its stimulus campaign at the same pace it has maintained since December, just as investors had expected.

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will begin circulating a redesigned $100 bill this fall, more than two years after its initial target. The Fed has set a new target date of Oct. 8. The redesigned note incorporates added security features, such as a blue, 3-D security ribbon and a disappearing Liberty Bell in an inkwell. The features are designed to thwart counterfeiters.

The Federal Reserve says it may start dialing back asset purchases this summer, but Wall Street doesn't seem worried Wednesday with stocks flying Wednesday and driving the major averages to fresh nominal highs.

A few Federal Reserve policymakers expected to taper the pace of asset purchases by midyear and end them later this year, while several others expected to slow the pace a bit later and halt the quantitative easing program by year-end, according to minutes of the Fed's March meeting.

The central bank affirmed that it would keep up its existing efforts to stimulate the economy, even though it expected a return to moderate growth.

To quell the latest financial crisis, the Federal Reserve smashed interest rates to the floor by buying bonds with money it effectively prints. Since 2008 assets on the Fed’s balance sheet, including those bonds, have tripled, to $3 trillion. (Hey, people needed encouragement, and low rates are encouraging.) The mixed results: Entrepreneurs and homeowners got some relief, while savers got whacked along with the value of the U.S. dollar. Starving for yield, investors piled into stocks, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its all-time high, absent inflation.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says stock prices have gotten a boost from low interest rates caused by the Federal Reserve's stimulus efforts.

The U.S. economy should emerge from the doldrums next year if the Federal Reserve sticks to its super-easy monetary policies, a top Fed official said on Thursday, even as he warned that cutting back too early would be a "big mistake."

U.S. consumer prices were flat last month, the latest sign inflation is in check. That could give the Federal Reserve leeway to continue its efforts to stimulate growth. The Labor Department says the consumer price index has risen 1.6 percent in the 12 months ending in January. That's down from a 2.9 percent pace a year ago.

The Federal Reserve, noting that economic growth had “paused” in recent months, said Wednesday that it would continue its efforts to stimulate the economy for as long as it deemed necessary.