The Daily Chase: Awaiting U.S. Fed rate decision; Pot sector blues

Everyone knows today’s top story. The question is how hawkish the U.S. Federal Reserve will be in its actions (ie, the possibility of a full-point hike), its words, and its dots — which will illustrate expectations for the policy rate over the next couple of years.

We’ll set the scene with the likes of BMO Global Asset Management Head of Fixed Income and Money Markets Earl Davis at 9:05 a.m. EDT, Ex-Fed Governor Larry Meyer at 10:00 a.m. EDT, and Pimco Portfolio Manager Vinayak Seshasayee. After the announcement at 2:00 p.m. EDT, we’ll hear from ex-Fed Vice-Chairman Richard Clarida and we’ll get insight into the ramifications for the Canadian dollar — which has been at the USD’s mercy — when TD Securities Head of Global FX Strategy Mark McCormick joins us at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

MARKET WATCH

U.S. futures are predictably tame ahead of the Fed. It’s a different story in the commodities market, where the price of Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude jumped more than three per cent this morning after Russia’s minister said up to 300,000 additional troops are being mobilized for the war in Ukraine, while Russian President Vladimir Putin made a veiled threat about the use of nuclear weapons.