....(the Fed) will raise interest rates before the middle of next year?

From USA Today
The Fed ends a two-day meeting on Wednesday with a policy statement and a news conference with Chair Janet Yellen.
Consumer prices last month posted their sharpest increase in 15 months as inflation continued a recent acceleration from unusually low levels. The consumer price index jumped 0.4% after rising 0.3% in April, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Economists had expected a 0.2% increase.
Over the past 12 months, consumer prices have increased 2.1%.
“The chances that (the Fed) will raise interest rates before the middle of next year are increasing,” economist Paul Dales of Capital Economics said in a research note Tuesday.

If inflation readings persist, it could also speed up the pace of Fed rate hikes . The Fed is on the lookout for rising prices, which hurts consumers buying power

“The stronger-than-expected rise also is supportive of our view that the Fed will move to raise rates in June 2015 and undertake a more normal tightening cycle than is currently being priced in by the market.”
Low borrowing costs have been a boon  for the stock market, as it makes stocks more attractive than bonds and provides much-needed stimulus to the economy. On the flip side, stocks have historically struggled during periods when the Fed was “tightening” policy.


Posted by
Ty Laffoon