Fed Plans Strategy Meetings, Fewer Rate Decisions

On October 28, 2026, the Fed kept its target rate range at 3.75% to 4%. At the post-meeting press conference, Kevin Warsh said the FOMC will keep eight meetings a year. One 2027 meeting will focus only on strategy, with no rate vote and no policy statement. He expects two strategy meetings and six policy-setting meetings in 2028. Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissented, favoring a quarter-point increase. The eight-meeting pace dates to 1981. Warsh said the schedule is an institutional choice that shapes the quality of deliberations, and that he does not believe in forward guidance absent a crisis. On CNBC after the press conference, Jeffrey Gundlach said the Fed should raise rates, citing the two-year Treasury near 4.75% and a steepening yield curve. The two-year yield traded at 4.714%. He said Warsh had just upgraded the economy and asked what officials were waiting for. CONTESTED: None on the rate hold, dissents, or the 2027-2028 meeting plan. December is seen as a likely point for a rate rise. Balance sheet task force findings are expected early in Q1 2027.