Guy Stephens's 2017 outlook: A year of diverging paths

The decision by the US Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) earlier this month to raise interest rates by 25 basis points had been widely expected. Markets must now consider the possibility of three further increases during 2017 as indicated by the FOMC as they strive to "get ahead of the curve". They have for some time wanted to raise policy rates more aggressively but on several occasions were thwarted by factors beyond their control. There is no doubt those responsible for setting US monetary policy would like to have higher policy rates if only to give scope to redu...