President Trump has put the Federal Reserve at the middle of the latest drop in the markets, saying the "Fed has gone crazy." WSJ global economics editor Jon Hilsenrath explores three reasons why the Fed is raising interest rates. Federal Reserve officials will debate this week how to signal less certainty over the path of interest rates without implying they are done raising them after their two-day policy meeting ends Wednesday. One challenge is deciding how to alter the Fed’s postmeeting policy statement. Since the central bank began raising rates three years ago, it has indicated the potential for “gradual increases.” It signaled greater confidence in the path since January, when it started saying it expected “further gradual increases.”...

Source: Wall Street Journal December 17, 2018 17:34 UTC