Mortgage rates were little changed Wednesday ahead of this afternoon’s Fed announcement. No rate changes are expected, but investors want to know when the Fed will begin tapering its bond purchase program known as “quantitative easing”, as well as the Fed’s outlook for the economy. The Fed statement will come out at 2:00 PM, followed by a press conference at 2:30. No key economic data will be released today. The Mortgage Bankers Association weekly purchase activity index fell by 4%, while the refinance activity index declined by 3%. Average reported 30-year fixed rates rose to 4.17%, plus 0.41 “points”.