Economists and traders pay a lot of attention to something that probably doesn’t keep you up at night: the FOMC Minutes, or, in English, the summary of the discussion among decision-makers on the Federal Reserve Board, known as the Federal Open Market Committee. 

What do they discuss?  The health of the U.S. economy, the prospects for inflation, and whether interest rates should be raised or lowered.  The latter issue, of course, is the reason for all the fuss; traders want to know if rates are going to go up faster than people expect, which might slow down the economy and reduce demand for stocks. Read More “Sunny Weather Forecast”