Many, from consumers to investment firms, will be seeking clues in coming months on what lies ahead in 2015 interest rates, which are likely to be raised for the first time in nine years, notes Grumpy Editor.
The question is when.
Some Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) followers see an increase coming as soon as April (at 2015’s third FOMC meeting. See table, below) as economists expect the economy to rise 2.9 percent in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, investors, market analysts, economists and business writers will be seeking clues, including wording in statements following some FOMC meetings.
Any change in the federal funds rate triggers a chain of events that affect short-term interest rates, long-term interest rates, foreign exchange 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 direction.
2015 FOMC meetings:
January 27-28
March 17-18*
April 28-29
June 16-17*
July 28-29
September 16-17*
October 27-28
December 15-16*
* Meeting associated with a Summary of Economic Projections and a press conference by chairwoman Janet Yellen.
FYI, IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE EDITORS MISSED THESE…
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee helmed his final weekly commentary show, “Huckabee,” on Saturday after six-and-a-half-years on Fox News Channel to explore a presidential run. “It’s been the ride of a lifetime and I have never had so much fun in my life,” he declared. He asked his fans to “stay tuned” to learn about his next move which will be determined in the spring. He previously ran for the Republican presidential nomination and won the 2008 Republican Iowa caucus before withdrawing...In wrapping up a vacation in Hawaii, President Barack Obama and wife Michelle on New Year’s Day spent three hours enjoying multi-course meals at Honolulu’s upscale Vintage Cave restaurant where dinner for two can run upwards of $1,000, tallies Honolulu Magazine…Military budget cuts a factor? Media didn't ask why missing from the 2015 Rose Parade on New Year's Day in Pasadena were Army, Navy and Air Force bands --- included in prior parades. But the Marine Corps was in the lineup…The monthly SF Evergreen, for cannabis industry and culture followers, debuts Jan. 26, free at San Francisco newsstands. “What we hope is an upper class, sort-of GQ or Vanity Fair for the marijuana scene in the Bay Area,” editor Chris Roberts told KCBS, San Francisco…In a new advertising program, beer drinkers soon will see more than 100 different messages on Bud Light bottles...Lake Superior State University’s 40th annual banished words list included polar vortex used in place of good old winter or cold snap and foodie for a person who likes food. Hey, that’s everyone…With a lot of dopey movies released in 2014, ticket sales fell 5.2 percent to $10.3 billion in the U.S., while attendance dropped an estimated 6 percent to 1.26 billion --- lowest in nearly two decades…A new California law, pushed by animal rights folks, requires farmers selling eggs in California to house their hens in larger structures. The move could see egg prices jump 40 percent in the Golden State…PR Week reported a survey found more public relations firms are offering the ability to work from home, with 90.5 percent of respondents saying they can…A mystery grenade that washed ashore on California’s Malibu beach received wide broadcast/print coverage. Media reported a sheriff’s arson/explosives detail arrived and rendered the device safe and took it away --- but no reporter asked about the device’s country of origin.
Oops! HarperCollins, in selling an atlas specifically for Middle East schools, left out Israel. The publisher last week said it regrets omission of that country and has removed the product.
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