Fed, IMF Meetings Dominate Washington Agenda This Week

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, the Federal Reserve concludes a two-day meeting at which it is expected to take new steps to bolster the U.S. economy. And next weekend, finance ministers and central bankers from
around the world gather in Washington D.C. for World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings.

A renewed sense of crisis pervades the global agenda. In the U.S., growth is slowing and the Fed is exploring its options to help. Most likely to occur at the next meeting: A decision to shift some of its securities portfolio into long-term Treasury holdings in an effort to drive up the price of those securities and bring down long-term interest rates. It also could push down the 0.25% interest rate it pays banks who hold cash in reserve at the central bank.

These moves already have been so thoroughly telegraphed that only the absence of action or some step that goes beyond either of these moves is likely to spark much market reaction.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal website, WSJ.com.)

IMF meetings will be dominated by discussions about Europe's fiscal and banking crises, and what steps officials can take. These meetings often involve lots of backroom discussion and little public action. However, the meetings could result in a heightened focus on global cooperation, and action, as world growth slows. It is one of the main themes of the IMF's outspoken new managing director, Christine Lagarde, who gets to take center stage.

Meanwhile, the White House is expected to spell out more details about deficit-reduction proposals to the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction on Monday