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What the Fed may be weighing as it decides what to do about interest rates

Unemployment is low. Consumer spending is high. But we’re also in a trade war with China, and growth is slowing around the world.

A view of the Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C.
A view of the Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

The Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policymaking board at the Federal Reserve, meets this week. Every six weeks or so, the FOMC decides whether to raise interest rates, cut them or keep them where they are. That decision is not always straightforward.

Look at the data the Fed is working with currently: Unemployment is low. Consumer spending is high. But we’re also in a trade war with China, and growth is slowing around the world.

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