The Federal Reserve meeting that wrapped up Wednesday both delivered on expectations and offered a few surprises. Here are five key takeaways:
“He kind of did a WWE slam on those expectations of a December rate cut. [The door is] not completely closed, I guess, but it was expected to be a foregone conclusion. And he came out pretty vociferously and said, ‘Nope, better not think about it that way.’” — Dan North, senior economist at Allianz
“So, regardless of the use of alternative data sources the Fed can draw on, we believe there is an increased chance that December’s meeting may skip a cut, which would push off further accommodative rate moves into the new year, and potentially to a new Chair.” — Rick Rieder, head of fixed income at BlackRock and finalist for Powell’s job when his term as chair expires in May
“He tried to say it is not a foregone conclusion, but a December rate cut still seems likely. No Fed leader wants to be responsible for a slowdown or a recession.” — Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union
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