If there’s one thing you can say about United States Federal Reserve policymakers, it’s that they don’t make decisions on a whim. When the Federal Open Market Committee met on Wednesday (Jan 31), it held interest rates steady - as most observers expected. That marks six months since the Fed last changed the base rate. And people should expect to wait a little while more: Fed chair Jerome Powell said a rate cut was “not likely” to come at the next meeting in March. But over the course of his news conference after the meeting, he emphasised that nothing is set in stone. The Federal Reserve has what is called a dual ... (full story)