The requirements were relaxed as part of the Fed's efforts to shore up the financial system
The U.S. central bank also upgraded its growth and inflation forecasts
Central bank intends to buy bonds at a "significantly higher pace"
The U.S. job market saw its highest gains in February since October 2020
The wait-and-see message caused bond yields to jump
Earnings for the big companies in the S&P 500 index are on track to be nearly 4% higher than a year earlier
The January result followed three months of declines
The Russell 2000 Index has more than tripled the gains of S&P 500 in the last three months
Least advantaged households have been most affected by job losses, the Fed chair said
The increase made scarcely any dent in the nearly 10 million jobs that remain lost