Sage Advice Quarterly Market Review 3Q2000

Will they or won’t they? That’s the pressing question being asked by Fed-watchers. Unlike the weeks leading up to the May 16 FOMC meeting — when just about everyone agreed that a rate increase was a slam dunk — this time opinion varies all over the lot. Actually, there are two parts to the question; a corollary issue is whether the Fed’s hands will be tied through the elections if it decides to stand pat on August 22. Adding to the uncertainty, it seems that chairman Greenspan himself is still undecided as to whether to pull the rate-hiking trigger or not.