Moody’s Analytics Economist Says Fed Should Keep Rates Unchanged

Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said the Federal Reserve should keep interest rates unchanged this week, pointing to a risk matrix that flags more threats to the U.S. economy.

Zandi does not expect the central bank to raise rates at its meeting and argues it should leave them unchanged. The possibility of a Federal Reserve policy mistake is among the risks he identified.

Moody’s risk matrix assesses how likely each risk is to occur over the next 12 to 18 months and the potential economic damage if it materializes. The assessment pairs the chance of an event over that period with the scale of its possible effects on the economy. Multiple red alerts indicate that risks are becoming more likely or more severe.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its decision at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, Oct. 28, followed by a news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET.