For a couple of reasons, the outcome of this Fed meeting has become a big deal. First, President Trump has been badgering the Fed’s chairman, Jerome H. Powell, to stop raising interest rates. For Trump, it’s that Fed rate hikes are intended to slow the growth rate down a bit to stave off inflationary pressures (put aside for the moment whether such pressures actually exist). Is he right, then, that the Fed will be making a mistake if it hikes later Wednesday? In this sense, “will they or won’t they?” (raise rates today) isn’t the right question.

Source: Washington Post December 19, 2018 13:18 UTC