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The Fed has a rate cut plus a bunch of other things on its plate this week. Here’s what to expect

  • Markets are assigning a nearly 100% probability that the Federal Open Market Committee will approve a second consecutive quarter percentage point at its meeting this week.
  • Beyond that, policymakers are likely to debate the future path of reductions, the challenges posed by a lack of economic data and the timetable for ending the Fed’s balance sheet runoff.
  • “There’s dissent between people who want to cut now, and people who want to wait and see a bit more,” said former Fed official Bill English.

The easy part for the Federal Reserve on Wednesday will be announcing an interest rate cut when it wraps up its two-day policy meeting. The hard part will be taking care of other details that are presenting substantial challenges to policymaking these days.

Markets are assigning a nearly 100% probability that the Federal Open Market Committee will approve a second consecutive quarter percentage point, or 25 basis point, reduction in the federal funds rate. The overnight lending benchmark is currently targeted between 4%-4.25%.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/28/fed-rate-cut-preview.html