Fed hike coming. Stocks posted weekly gains Friday, while Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen put an exclamation point on the possibility of a rate hike this month.
"I think Janet Yellen has done a good job of walking the tightrope of preparing the market for this," said Ben Baier, senior portfolio manager at Bank of the West. "It would take something big to knock them off this rate hike."
While leaving just enough wiggle room in case conditions should change, the central bank leader said economic improvements of late will be a big part of the discussion at the March 14-15 Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
"With the Fed, we're going from red to green; there's no yellow," said Tom Siomades, head of Hartford Funds Investment Consulting Group. But "they haven't been very overt in terms of action. It's always been a wait-and see Fed, and that's what makes people nervous."
