The Latest Breaking News from Jerome Powell

Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday will likely signal a slower pace of interest rate cuts next year compared with the past few months, which would mean that Americans might enjoy only slight relief from still-high borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards

Wall Street has been bracing for a hawkish Federal Reserve meeting outcome, but maybe not hawkish enough.

It appears Fed staff are erring on the side of caution, according to the New York Times, which cited people familiar with the matter.

The Federal Reserve announced that they're cutting their benchmark rate by a quarter-point, 4.75% to about 4.3%, when their meeting ends Wednesday.

"It's important for people to understand the role of the FOMC or monetary policy at the Federal Reserve because of the importance of price stability and maximum employment for people's everyday lives," Collins told Fortune.

Federal reserve could cut rates for third time this year as prices rise 2.7% compared with a year before

But the president-elect, who during his first term repeatedly threatened to replace Powell, claimed the board chair would resign "if I told him to."

The U.S. stock market posted another week of strong performance, with major large-cap indices such as the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 extending their record highs.

The major indexes hit fresh highs, buoyed by Salesforce and mostly positive tech earnings. Bitcoin briefly topped $100,000.