ECONOMY/FEDERAL RESERVE: “The next interest rate increase could be closer than it appears.
That’s after documents released Wednesday [2-22-17] show that Federal Reserve officials spent their meeting three weeks ago consumed with the changes brought on by a new administration in the White House — concluding with a strong indication that another hike could be just around the corner.
The Federal Open Market Committee — the central bank’s policy-making arm — discussed at length the impact from lower taxes and regulations and higher domestic spending under President Donald Trump, according to minutes of the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 session.”
–Jeff Cox, “Fed minutes: Trump policies could lead to rate hike ‘fairly soon’,” CNBC.com, Feb. 22, 2017