Fed needs to be aware of the Ides of March

ECONOMIC pundits (who regularly has had to make predictions by deconstructing the somewhat cryptic messages conveyed by the heads of the US central bank) are insisting that they have found clues as to whether the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates at its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in March.

And many of them now believe that interest rates would be raised - or at least, that such a move would be on the FOMC table - during the gathering on March 14-15.

First, Fed chair Janet Yellen had made clear that she and her colleagues would raise interest rates sooner than later. "Precisely when we take an action - March, May or June - I can't tell you," Ms Yellen told the Senate Banking Committee in February. "I would say every meeting is live."