Expectations today call for matching 25 basis point rate cuts from the Bank of Canada to be announced at 9:45 am ET and the Federal Reserve at 14:00 ET. The respective heads of the two central banks will meet the press afterwards, with Governor Tiff Macklem at 10:30 am ET and Chair Jerome Powell at 14:30 ET.

It will be interesting to see how many dissenters join Governor Stephen Miran in calling for a more aggressive rate cut. Presumably that would be a harbinger of what is to come in 2026 when President Trump will replace Powell with someone like Miran, ready to do the president's bidding. For now, with Powell still in charge, markets are somewhat on edge ahead of the Fed's afternoon press conference to see whether Powell appears reluctant to proceed with the rate cuts markets expect headed into year end and Q1 of 2026.

Markets also expect the Fed to signal an end to its program to shrink its bond holdings to take effect immediately or by year end. That would help avoid an unwanted spike in money market rates due to liquidity shortages, as happened in 2019 during an earlier era of quantitative tightening.

Market Focus details key factors in the coming day that will impact the economic outlook and the financial markets. These include central bank events, economic indicators, policymaker speeches as well as expected political and corporate developments.

Keeping up-to-date with event schedules and the economic calendar is key to understanding the global financial system. Econoday's Market Focus allows investors and policymakers to carefully track what will be making news and moving the financial markets in the coming day.