The Federal Reserve announced today (the 17th) a 25-basis-point rate hike, its first of 2026. The Fed's latest dot plot shows that 18 of the 19 officials submitted dot plot projections (consistent with June), of whom 16 believe rates should be hiked again this year. Specifically, 4 officials believe the cumulative hike in 2026 should be 75 basis points (1 in June), 12 officials believe the cumulative hike should be 50 basis points (5 in June), 2 officials believe the cumulative hike should be 25 basis points (3 in June), 0 officials believe the 3.5%-3.75% rate should be maintained this year (8 in June), and 0 officials believe there should be a cumulative 25-basis-point cut (1 in June). (Jin Shi) [Odaily]