(Continued from page 50)

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve appears to be moving toward announcing some new step to try to energize the troubled U.S. economy. The question is whether it will do so after its policy meeting this week.
• Probably not, many economists say.
• The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.5 percent from April through June, less than the 2 percent rate in the first quarter. But many analysts say the economy hasn't slowed enough to compel the Fed to announce further help immediately.
• Still, Fed officials have signaled their concern about weakening job growth and

consumer spending, which have brought the economy closer to a standstill. Chairman Ben Bernanke has said the Fed is prepared to take further action if unemployment stays high.
• What that action might be isn't clear. The Fed has already pursued two rounds of purchases of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities to cut long-term interest rates and encourage borrowing and spending. These programs are called quantitative easing.
• ___

• WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Mitt Romney is stressing the United States' long ties with Poland as he caps a weeklong foreign tour intended to prove his leadership on world affairs and highlight his differences with President Barack Obama.
• The Republican presidential candidate is prepared to deliver a foreign policy speech Tuesday at the end of a three-nation tour that began last week in Britain and took him to Israel.
• Romney has stumbled along the way, inadvertently insulting Brits and angering Palestinians. On Monday in Jerusalem, he told Jewish campaign donors Monday that their culture is part of what has allowed them to be more economically successful than the Palestinians. Outraged Palestinian leaders suggested Romney's comments were racist and out of touch with the realities of the Middle East.

(Continued on page 52)