A divided US Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday, but signaled a high bar for additional cuts next year.
For the first time in six years, three officials dissented, but “if nobody is fully happy or angry, then they probably did their job,” one strategist said. The next year could see more contention and uncertainty: The Fed has penciled in only one trim for 2026, but “no one in the markets” believes that forecast, an economist wrote.
President Donald Trump has suggested that his nominee to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be someone committed to lowering borrowing costs.
