The week ahead: Rate hike break for the Fed?

The Federal Open Market Committee meets this week and on Wednesday will announce its decision on whether or not to hike interest rates, with the general consensus being they will leave well enough alone and keep them as is.

What's in a name? That's the big question the SEC will be mulling on the same day when it decides on whether or not to tweak its "Names Rule," which requires funds put their money where their mouths are and invest 80% of their assets in what their name implies.

• Washington State Investment Board on Thursday will vote on over $1 billion in commitments recommended by its private markets committee earlier this month, including new funds from Ara Advisors, Centerbridge Capital Partners and KKR & Co.

• On Thursday, U.S. initial jobless claims, existing home sales data for August and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index numbers for September are released.

• William Birdthistle, director of the SEC's division of investment management, will appear before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets for an oversight hearing on Tuesday morning.
  
• The SEC on Wednesday will consider adopting changes to its Names Rule, which requires funds with certain names — such as those specifying a type of security, industry or geographic area — to invest 80% of their assets in the types of investments the name suggests. Under the proposed rule unveiled in May 2022, that requirement would be expanded to include any fund names that have "particular characteristics," including those with the terms "growth" and "value," or those indicating the fund incorporates one or more environmental, social and governance investing factors. During the proposal's comment period, industry stakeholders expressed concerns over lack of clarity and said that the rigidity of the rules could force managers into making fire sales.
  
• Also on Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee wraps up its two-day meeting. It's widely expected that the Fed will keep the federal funds rate at the current level, which is now at its highest point since 2001.

• The European Union on Tuesday will report year-over-year consumer price index data for August.
  
• This week brings the Bank of England's next monetary policy committee meeting, with money managers largely expecting the central bank to announce one final interest-rate hike on Thursday despite a softening in U.K. GDP data. Still, managers expect the BOE to be watching closely to see what the next consumer price index figures bring on Wednesday before making a final decision.

• Japan releases CPI data on Thursday.