Everbright Sun Hung Kai: Fed December Vote May See First-ever 6:6 Tie

On November 24th, analysts from the research firm Capital Economics stated that the consensus-driven Federal Reserve has recently exhibited an increasingly serious division. To such an extent that the rate-setting meeting in the next month may face a "possible deadlock." In a report last Friday, the economists of Capital Economics attempted to assess the voting. Four regional Fed presidents on the committee - Collins, Goolsbee, Mussallem, and Schmidt - expressed doubts about the proposal to cut rates next month and were even "completely opposed." Fed governors Ball and Jefferson also sounded cautious. In the dovish camp, three Fed governors appointed by Trump - Bauman, Milan, and Wall - have been advocating for rate cuts, and Williams' statement last Friday seemed to suggest that he might join them. Capital Economics stated: "In this calculation, there are still only four votes in favor of rate cuts and six votes against. However, considering that Williams and Fed Chair Powell often share the same views (and Governor Lisa Cook usually votes in line with Powell), we may see a six-to-six tie." Robert Eisenbeis, who previously served as the research director at the Atlanta Fed, told Fortune earlier this year that in the event of a tie, the federal funds rate would remain unchanged.