As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee ((FOMC)) this week held steady on both the Fed Funds rate (2.25-2.50%) and the interest on excess reserves (IOER, 2.35%). But, more importantly, the FOMC statement emphasized higher economic uncertainty, and FOMC officials weighed rate cuts in response to this more uncertain economic outlook. Indeed, roughly half of the FOMC officials are now forecasting 50 basis points of rate cuts will be appropriate before year-end 2019, while many of those who are not currently forecasting a cut, according to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, "agree that the case for