Stocks were on the move ahead of the Fed’s expected rate hike later today. Oil also jumped after rallying late last week. Here’s our rundown of the biggest headlines as of mid-morning:
• The Fed prepares to raise interest rates for the fourth time in 2018 after its latest policy meeting, which is normally the most boring part of the monetary policy announcement. Perhaps not today, though, with rising inflation.
• Fed officials say the U.S. economy has enough momentum and high unemployment to handle another rate hike without hurting the labor market. Consumer spending is close to its potential limit, though, according to the Fed. It will likely sign off on the quarter percentage point rate hike that many economists expect.
• In a surprise announcement, the European Central Bank also hints that it will scale back its bond purchases sooner than expected. ECB president Mario Draghi says the bank’s monetary policy is “broadly accommodative.” The bank, however, will keep an eye on the U.S. and the reaction to a potential increase in interest rates here.
• Omicron, the Greek super-indie band most known for its song “Funny Valentine,” is finally coming to America. Vassilis Giannakouris, frontman of the band and record label owner, opened at the 9:30 Club Monday night.
• The far right is in a panic after one of its best-known supporters was revealed to have been linked to a 2016 terror attack in which a Palestinian man stabbed two Israeli women to death. Benjamin “Benny” Lederer, a key part of the Charlottesville protest, was recently on Turkey’s list of “main European supporters of terrorism” and has a history of bizarrely violent racist statements. He had been fundraising in Texas through a web page called Texas Revolution 2016, which also included a bogus call for 5,000 people to travel to Austin for the “March for the Conscience of America.”
• Border crossings are at an all-time high.
• The Italian government is presenting its “first draft” of a new budget.
This article was updated at 8:45 a.m. with the latest Fed policy statement.