Poll: Janet Yellen and the FED to Raise Rates, Sit Pat or QE4?

Today’s US Fed Meeting- the financial markets have been assuming that after nine years, today may finally be the day that the Fed raises rates. They’ve been talking about it being possibly around the corner since 2012, but have yet to pull the trigger.

The options:

Raise Rates: The theory here is that Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen telegraphed earlier in the year, and most recently in July, that the US economy was improving and employment was rising. Unlike in the Bernake days, when he cited a weak housing market as the albatross that was keeping the Fed from raising rates regardless of the rest of the market, Yellen hasn’t been shown to have a specific sector that is dragging down her overall view.

Sit Pat: On the other hand, since July’s Fed Meeting and Yellen’s economic testimony to congress, the US stock market went through a correction. In addition, as covered earlier in the month, other central banks (such as the Bank of England) have held back from raising rates this month. Therefore the Fed may not want to rattle the boat, and instead choose to follow along with the consensus and wait for at least one more meeting to analyze how the Summer’s stock market downturn is effecting the US economy overall.

QE4: With the Fed’s existing track record, a new round of quantitative easing (QE) can never be ruled out.