Fed Expected To Cut Rates But May Offer Little Guidance

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve is set to cut its benchmark interest rate Wednesday for a third time this year to help sustain the U.S. economic expansion in the face of widespread trade tensions and slower global growth.  But the Fed’s policymakers will likely frustrate anyone who is hoping for a clear signal about what they may do next. The central bank may prefer instead to keep its options open, economists say.  Analysts have forecast that the Fed will reduce the short-term rate it controls – which influences a broad range of consumer and business loans – by one-quarter percentage point year to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%. A third cut would nearly reverse the four rate hikes that the Fed made last year in response to a strengthening economy.