The Federal Reserve meets today and Wednesday and a published report suggests that the central bank could halt the rise of interest rates earlier than expected.
Should that happen, analysts speculate, the economy’s prolonged expansion could last longer than previously forecast.
CNBC reports that while the Fed is expected to announce a quarter-point interest rate hike this week, there could be “a quicker end to the rate-hiking cycle than the market anticipates.”
“The mechanics are a little complicated,” writes CNBC’s Jeff Cox. “Yet it suggests that what once appeared to be an operation to shrink the amount of bonds the Fed owns that would have run well into the next decade could be wrapped up next year, or early 2020 at the latest.