What Mattered This Week? Banks Seek Help from the Fed

There were two events that mattered this week. First was the regular Fed meeting on interest rates, where the Fed ended up raising rates by the expected 25 bps. Even as it did, though, Chair Powell led the press conference with unexpectedly dovish commentary. He explicitly said that the Fed was aware of the stress in the financial system, that it would have negative effects on the economy, and that it would affect future Fed decisions. All told, this was about as dovish a rate increase as you can get. On the whole, that seemed to leave markets feeling if not good, then at least not bad.

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