Fed May Start Shifting Strategy on Rates

'Wall Street Journal' suggests central bank might ease up on hikes, cheering the stock market
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 21, 2022 10:00 AM CDT
Fed May Start Shifting Strategy on Rates
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

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.)

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