Moving Pieces Ahead of Fed Rate Decision

Monetary Policy and Federal Reserve Actions - The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points (bps) for the first time in 2025, following a total cut of 100 bps in the last three meetings of 2024 [1][3] - The decision is complicated by low job gains, including a loss of 13,000 jobs in June, while inflation is slowly increasing, influenced by tariff policies [2] - There is speculation whether the rate cut could be larger, potentially reaching 50 bps, which would set rates between 3.75% and 4.00% for the first time in nearly three years [3] Political Influences on the Federal Reserve - The politicization of the Fed is evident, with President Trump criticizing Fed Chair Jerome Powell for being slow to reduce rates and attempting to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook over personal finance allegations [4] - A federal judge's injunction reversed Trump's decision to fire Cook, but the White House is contesting this to prevent her from voting in the upcoming FOMC meeting [4][6] - The Senate is set to vote on confirming Stephen Miran, a pro-Trump official, to the FOMC, who has previously advocated for a 300 bps rate cut [5] Manufacturing Sector Performance - The Empire State Manufacturing Index reported a negative reading of -8.7 for September, significantly below the expected +4.5 and a decline from August's 11.9 [7][8] - This marks the first negative reading in three months and reflects a broader trend, with seven out of the past twelve months showing negative growth in New York State manufacturing [9]