Amid the heart of earnings season, the Federal Reserve just delivered one of the most anticipated interest rate decisions in years. With Fed Chair Kevin Warsh shelving forward-looking guidance from Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting statements, determining what policymakers will do next has become far more challenging.
While a handful of prominent names and financial institutions had postulated that the Fed would raise interest rates, the FOMC ultimately left its federal funds target rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75% -- and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) , S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) , and Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) tumbled.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has inherited a historically fractured central bank. Image source: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok.
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