The Federal Reserve held off on a rate hike Wednesday, falling in line with what had widely been predicted ahead of decision day. "A December rate hike is more likely," Jeremy Zirin, the chief equity strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas, told USA Today. "The Fed doesn't want to be disruptive to the market, and it would clearly be a surprise to the market," had the hike come today.
That was what it sounded like from the Fed's announcement, too:
The language suggests the committee is lining up for a December move: "The case for an increase in the federal-funds rate has strengthened." That's the language [Janet] Yellen used last month in her Jackson Hole speech.But the committee said it decided "for the time being, to wait for further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives." [The Wall Street Journal]
U.S. stocks were trading higher on Wednesday in anticipation of the Fed's policy meeting and after the Bank of Japan announced a "new framework" in a surprise decision as part of an effort to boost the economy.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
