Fed May Start Shifting Strategy on Rates

The stock market was in a good mood on Friday, with the Dow up about 300 points after the first hour of trading. One reason seems to be a story in the Wall Street Journal suggesting that the Federal Reserve might start cooling down its rate hikes. Both CNBC and Investor's Business Daily cite the Journal report as a factor. The Fed is still expected to jack rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in November, but the Journal raises the possibility that December will see a lesser hike of a half-point.

"We will have a very thoughtful discussion about the pace of tightening at our next meeting," it quotes Fed governor Christopher Waller as saying in a speech earlier this month. Some Fed members are apparently growing worried that the recent string of 0.75% increases might be slowing the economy too much. And if a smaller increase is indeed on the horizon, expect Fed members to begin public discussions about it in November so investors can be prepared, per the Journal. (More Federal Reserve stories.)