Fed-Focus: Front And Center

<p>Stocks opened in the red on Wall Street ahead of the Fed’s decision on interest rates. Asia stocks closed mixed with the 225-share Nikkei closing up slightly by 0.04 percent, while the Hang Seng blue chip in Hong Kong ended the day in negative territory.</p>
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<p>Meanwhile, European shares were peaking in midday trade with indexes in London, Paris, and Frankfurt were higher by as much as one percent.</p>
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<p>But the focus today is on the Federal Reserve’s comments and a decision on interest rates. Analysts antcipate the benchmark rates to be kept on hold at 5.25 percent.</p>
<p>A productivity report from the Department of Labor, said that output per worker is less than expected at 1.8 percent for the second quarter. Analysts forecasts were tagged at 2 percent. Along with that, labor costs are rising, and that’s bad news because productivity has been a key measure of rising living standards as it allows for higher wages without companies raising prices.</p>
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