Week ahead: the Fed's rate call finally arrives
Everything else this week is just waiting for Wednesday afternoon. That’s when the Fed announces its rate decision, a few hours after August’s retail sales figures come out the same morning, and because policymakers stop giving speeches or interviews in the fortnight before every meeting, there’s nothing else on the calendar that comes close to mattering as much. Last week’s inflation figures came in higher than expected, and that alone was enough to tip the balance: traders now think the Fed is more likely than not to raise rates, where a week ago it was closer to an even bet. Wednesday is where we find out whether that shift was the right call. ...
