--- title: "Six fixed interest rate meetings and two economic discussions! Waller aims to reshape the frequency of the Federal Reserve FOMC meetings, as the financial market shifts from \"Federal Reserve guidance\" to \"market pricing everything.\"" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/294618324.md" description: "Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh proposed to adjust the frequency of FOMC meetings, reducing the number of interest rate decision meetings from 8 times a year to 6 times, and adding 2 substantive economic topic meetings. This move aims to shift the policy framework from \"central bank managing expectations\" to \"market-led pricing,\" allowing the market to respond autonomously based on economic data rather than relying on the Federal Reserve's forward guidance. Currently, this proposal has not yet reached a final decision" datetime: "2026-08-02T23:49:15.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/294618324.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294618324.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/294618324.md) --- # Six fixed interest rate meetings and two economic discussions! Waller aims to reshape the frequency of the Federal Reserve FOMC meetings, as the financial market shifts from "Federal Reserve guidance" to "market pricing everything." According to the Zhitong Finance APP, media reports citing informed sources indicate that Kevin Warsh, the Federal Reserve Chairman nominated by Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, has proposed the possibility of adjusting the frequency of the Federal Reserve's routine monetary policy meetings. Informed sources stated that one key idea proposed by Warsh is for Federal Reserve policymakers to hold six traditional FOMC monetary policy meetings each year instead of the current eight, to decide on the benchmark interest rate and other monetary policy matters, and to hold two additional brief meetings each year with specific objectives to discuss substantive economic issues. In the two substantive economic topic meetings revealed by informed sources, Warsh's idea is to hold two separate meetings each year that do not focus on immediate interest rate adjustments but are specifically dedicated to in-depth discussions on substantive macroeconomic topics. Currently, the Federal Reserve has not made any decisions or issued significant statements. Under Warsh's leadership, the Federal Reserve is accelerating the formation of a new policy framework summarized as "clear objectives, deliberately vague paths, market-led pricing, and reassessment of policy tools." The "policy framework and institutional changes" led by Warsh since taking office are not merely about raising interest rates higher but aim to shift from the Powell era's "central bank's continuous and long-term management of market expectations" to a model where economic data, bond yields, exchange rates, and risk asset prices provide signals first, followed by the Federal Reserve's judgment. Warsh explicitly welcomes the market to adjust itself in the absence of forward guidance, believing that the recent significant rise in nominal and real Treasury yields indicates that financial conditions have changed; his policy philosophy is closer to "letting the market focus on the economy rather than on the Federal Reserve as the referee." Informed sources said that during last week's monetary policy and interest rate voting and decision-making body meeting—the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)—the Federal Reserve Chairman raised the issue of reconsidering the FOMC meeting schedule. The Federal Open Market Committee, composed of 12 FOMC members, currently holds eight monetary policy meetings each year in Washington, D.C., to set the benchmark interest rate and the monetary policy path; this practice has been in place since the early 1980s. Reducing the number of interest rate and monetary policy meetings would mark a significant change in the fundamental operations of the Federal Reserve. One informed source indicated that last week's FOMC monetary policy meeting also focused on whether to better adjust the timing of monetary policy decisions to align with the release of important economic data and other significant economic information, aiming to improve the overall quality of monetary policy decision-making. Regarding the latest information cited by the media from informed sources, a spokesperson for the Federal Reserve declined to comment. Warsh is contemplating reshaping the Federal Reserve's rhythm: eight meetings may change to "six plus two," and market pricing may welcome a new FOMC meeting clock. The proposal put forward by Warsh is to adjust the current eight policy meetings per year to about six formal interest rate decision meetings, with two additional specialized economic discussions; a final decision has not yet been made. The Federal Reserve has maintained eight regular meetings per year since 1981, and can still hold emergency meetings during crises, so reducing regular meetings does not mean the central bank loses its emergency response capability If the meeting schedule can better cover employment, CPI, PCE, and quarterly economic data, reducing the number of meetings can lower the risk of making hasty decisions based on single noisy data points and allow more space for internal research and strategic discussions. However, the issue is that Waller also tends to reduce press conferences, condense statements, and withdraw forward guidance. Fewer meetings do not necessarily increase risk; it is the combination of fewer meetings, less communication, and a long-term unclear policy response function that systematically raises risk. Under this system, global markets will shift from the past "continuous policy navigation" to "discrete information jumps": each CPI, non-farm payroll, oil price shock, and FOMC meeting could become a more significant market repricing node. The extended time between meetings also means that the market must infer the central bank's stance on its own, with implied volatility of interest rate options, term premiums on U.S. Treasuries, and equity risk premiums potentially remaining at higher levels. Reconsidering the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting schedule highlights Waller's thinking on how to change the underlying logic and methodology of how the Fed formulates policy and utilizes data. Waller was nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump and officially took charge of the Federal Reserve in May of this year. The new chair has proposed the possibility of reducing the frequency of daily press conferences following Federal Reserve interest rate and monetary policy decisions and has significantly shortened the monetary policy statements released after meetings while refusing to provide any forward guidance as usual. Waller recently announced the establishment of five working groups to study significant reform measures that the Federal Reserve may undertake, covering areas from the communication methods between the Fed and financial markets to the management of the central bank's balance sheet path. According to the rules of the Federal Open Market Committee, the committee meets at least four times a year in Washington but can hold more meetings. The specific rules and regulations state: "Meetings may be called by the chair of the board or at the request of any three members of the committee." During periods of severe turmoil in the global economy and markets, the Federal Reserve has also held ad hoc FOMC monetary policy meetings, such as the emergency meeting held at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee (i.e., the FOMC) consists of 12 members: seven permanent members from the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, including Waller; the president of the New York Fed, who serves as vice-chair of the Federal Open Market Committee; and four of the 12 regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents, who take turns serving as voting members of the FOMC each year. Before officially taking the helm of the Federal Reserve, Waller had also suggested adjusting the central bank's policy meeting schedule. In 2014, he reviewed the Bank of England's practices on monetary transparency and policy procedures, known as the "Waller Review," which ultimately led to the Bank of England reducing its annual meeting frequency from 12 to 8 times. The European Central Bank adjusted the frequency of its monetary policy meetings to once every six weeks in 2015, replacing the previous practice of holding meetings on the Thursday of the first working week of each month Less talk, fewer meetings, and more volatility! Walsh is reshaping global financial markets from "Fed guidance" to "market pricing everything." In the view of some economists, the core of Walsh's monetary policy philosophy lies in refusing to provide forward guidance from the Federal Reserve, reducing the density of communication, and allowing bonds, exchange rates, and risk assets to form price signals more directly based on economic data. Walsh himself has repeatedly stated that he hopes to reduce "feeding answers" to the market, allowing the market to provide less independent judgment guided by the Fed. Under Walsh's leadership, the Federal Reserve is accelerating the formation of a new policy framework summarized as "clear objectives, deliberately vague paths, market-led pricing, and reassessment of policy tools." In July, the FOMC maintained the federal funds rate at 3.50%-3.75% with a vote of 9 to 3, with three members advocating for an immediate rate hike of 25 basis points; Walsh repeatedly confirmed that the 2% inflation target is non-negotiable but refused to tell the market how to achieve it next. Meanwhile, he removed predictive forward guidance language from traditional statements, reduced the density of forward guidance, and established five working groups to reassess communication, balance sheets, data, AI and productivity, and the inflation framework. Walsh clearly welcomes the market to adjust itself in the absence of forward guidance, believing that the recent significant rise in nominal and real Treasury yields indicates that financial conditions have changed; his policy philosophy is closer to "letting the market focus on the economy rather than on the Fed as the referee." As of July 30, the market pricing for a Fed rate hike in September fluctuated around 57% to 65%, without being "fully priced in"; Wall Street predictions were also highly divided: Bank of America leaned towards a rate hike starting in September, while JPMorgan's baseline scenario was a rate hike in December, acknowledging that there are still risks in September, while Goldman Sachs and Barclays expected no action for the rest of the year. The biggest logical risk for Walsh currently is viewing all long-term yield increases as effective monetary tightening. After the July meeting, short-term yields fell due to the market lowering recent rate hike bets, while the 30-year yield broke above 5.2%, reaching its highest level in about 19 years, resulting in a noticeable steepening of the curve. This combination is not a standard "Fed successfully guiding the market to tighten early," but more likely indicates that the market has raised its compensation requirements for long-term inflation, fiscal supply, and policy uncertainty. This is the meaning of the so-called "Anna Karenina principle" of monetary policy: successful price stability requires the coordination of policy tools, central bank credibility, inflation expectations, fiscal environment, and financial stability; any failure in one link may undermine the overall outcome. If the bond market sells off due to concerns about insufficient Fed response, and the Fed interprets the bond sell-off as "the market has already raised rates for us," it could create a dangerous cycle: the market worries about the Fed's vague policy path and increasing inaction—long-term risk premiums rise—the Fed views the yield increase as alternative tightening—continues to take no action—the market further questions the inflation anchor This "reputation-based yield increase" is more detrimental to the stock market than a normal growth-based yield increase, as it raises the valuation discount rate without necessarily being accompanied by higher real earnings expectations. The Federal Reserve no longer commits to eliminating uncertainty for the market, and the market will require each high-valuation asset to prove that its earnings growth can withstand the new environment of higher interest rates, less communication, and a weaker "Fed put." For global stocks, the most direct impact of the Walsh framework is not the policy interest rate itself, but the simultaneous rise of long-term real interest rates and policy uncertainty. Global stock markets are more likely to enter a new phase characterized by "high index volatility, strong industry differentiation, and earnings-driven rather than valuation-driven" dynamics. When the real financing costs of 10-year and 30-year bonds rise, even if the current critical logic supporting stock valuations—namely, the strong actual orders related to AI computing infrastructure—remains robust, the market will demand that companies demonstrate more quickly how capital expenditures can be converted into revenue, profits, and free cash flow. 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