After yesterday’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting announcement that interest rates are expected to remain low “for an extended period,” investors and other followers of FOMC action will want to keep next month’s and 2010 scheduled meeting dates handy for latest readings on the economy, reminds Grumpy Editor.
A major concern in upcoming months will be the direction of interest rates --- which can only move up from current levels.
The question is: when?
Wording in statements following each meeting will be put under the microscope, as clues will be sought from FOMC’s 12 members headed by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke.
Changes in the federal funds rate trigger a chain of events that affect other short-term interest rates, foreign exchange rates, long-term interest rates, the amount of money and credit, and, ultimately, a range of economic variables. That includes employment, output, prices of goods and services plus, of course, the stock market.
While business and financial stories in coming months will mention upcoming Fed action, many writers are fuzzy in pinpointing actual dates of FOMC meetings in advance. Sometimes they come close with “next week” or “next month.”
So with one more 2009 FOMC meeting set for Dec. 15 and for easy reference in the year ahead, Grumpy Editor lists the eight scheduled 2010 meetings, including four two-day sessions:
• Jan. 26 and 27
• March 16
• April 27 and 28
• June 22 and 23
• Aug. 10
• Sept. 21
• Nov. 2 and 3
• Dec. 14
Following the meetings (or at the end of two-day gatherings), statements are released to media around 2:15 p.m., Eastern time.
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