London (UKX) +0.16% to 9,727. Halifax House Price Index in the UK rose 0.7% Y/Y in November. Germany (DAX:IND) +0.38% to 23,974. Germany’s factory orders rose 1.5% M/M in October. France (CAC:IND) +0.

Signs of potential trouble are popping up again in the form of tighter conditions in short-term funding markets — and they may require the Federal Reserve to take action relatively soon.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will reduce its key interest rate by a quarter-percentage point at the December 9-10 policy meeting to support a cooling labour market, according to a majority of over 100 economists surveyed by Reuters.

Follow for live news and analysis of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index. The September reading is due to be released on Friday morning.

The stock market has stabilized and rebounded in recent weeks as expectations of a Fed rate cut in December have solidified to the point where betting markets ascribe it a 95% probability. But Tom Essaye’s Sevens Report,

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has been leading the interview process for the next Federal Reserve chair, stopped short on Wednesday of confirming that the job will go to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.

Interviews for the position are still under way, but Hassett offers what other candidates don’t: the president’s trust and credibility with markets.

Kevin Hassett may not have the ability to deliver the rapid pace of interest rate cuts US President Donald Trump would like even if he is approved as the next Federal Reserve Chair, said Gregory Peters,

There are five candidates to become the next Federal Reserve chair when Jerome Powell's term ends in May 2026, according to a shortlist kept by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. And former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is one of them.