(Monday Pre-Market) Fed week is here, but one could be forgiven for thinking it seems anti-climactic.
We haven't spent much time recently talking about odds for a December rate hike, quite simply because it already seems like a fact on the ground. The futures market pegged chances at 97% as of midday Friday, and various Fed governors have telegraphed the expected decision quite clearly. If it happens, the hike would the first in a year and only the second since 2006.
Just because a rate hike seems likely doesn't mean there's nothing interesting about the Fed meeting, which takes place Tuesday and Wednesday. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to hold a press conference Wednesday afternoon, and at meetings like this one, where a decision seems baked in ahead of time, her words tend to take the spotlight. Investors may want to keep their ears open for anything Yellen says…