Monetary policy

The Federal Reserve expects to cut interest rates three times this year, some say as early as March, if data alllow those moves. Following the Jan. 30-31 FOMC meeting, Garrett Melson, portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions, will provide his take on the meeting and Chair Jerome Powell's press conference.

The discussion of rate cuts, both timing and amount, has analysts offering varying estimates.

"I believe policy is set properly," Waller said. "It is restrictive and should continue to put downward pressure on demand to allow us to continue to see moderate inflation readings."

John Williams, who also serves as vice chair of the Federal Open Market Committee, does not expect the Federal Reserve to slow its balance sheet runoff anytime soon.

Musalem, an economist, is a former executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

"A soft landing is increasingly conceivable but in no way inevitable," Barkin, who will vote on policy decisions this year, said in the text of a speech Wednesday.

"It's important that we start to move rates down," Harker said Wednesday in a local radio interview. "We don't have to do it too fast, and we're not going to do it right away."

The Federal Open Market Committee meets Dec. 12 and 13 and in addition to their statement, they will issue a Summary of Economic Projections.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said it's too early for officials to begin thinking about cutting rates as soon as March as they consider whether policy is restrictive enough to get inflation back to 2%.

The Federal Open Market Committee's Summary of Economic Projections probably won't offer the 130 basis points of cuts next year that the market expects.