Fed Rate Hike Dec 2018
On what’s said to be the final big event for the year that is market moving, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate a quarter-point but lowered its projections for future hikes. Heading into the announcement, many analysts had expected a "dovish" interest rate increase paired with strong verbal cues that the central bank would not tighten excessively in a period when global stocks have retreated amid concerns over slowing growth and trade wars. However, the Fed and Chairman Jay Powell did not go far enough to assuage markets. As markets had expected, the central bank took the target range for its benchmark funds rate to 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent. The move marked the fourth increase this year and the ninth since it began normalizing rates in December 2015. Officials, though, now project two hikes next year, which is a reduction but still ahead of current market pricing of no additional moves next year. As Trump views the condition of the s...