Fed on track for December rate hike

As widely expected, the Fed left interest rates unchanged at this week’s FOMC meeting, but it appears to be intent on hiking interest rates at the upcoming December meeting. Nevertheless, next week’s election could still throw a spanner into the works, either if a shock Trump win causes a stock market slump or if a close election result is contested by one or both of the candidates, resulting in a repeat of the 2000 election debacle when the outcome wasn’t settled until more than a month later.