All eyes are on the Federal Reserve as the wait for rate cuts continues. Steve Skancke, chief economic advisor at Keel Point, will discuss the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the Summary of Economic Projections, and Chair Powell's press conference.

It comes as investors begin to reshuffle their portfolios at the mid-year mark, while traders earlier this week embraced bets on 3 percentage points of cuts over the next nine months.

Cook expects three- and six-month inflation rates to continue to move lower on a "bumpy path," with monthly data similar to the "favorable" readings seen in the second half of 2023 for the rest of the year.

Potentially limiting the Federal Reserve's ability to cut rates is the growing view that the economy's so-called neutral rate — a theoretical level of borrowing costs that neither stimulates nor slows growth — is much higher than policymakers are currently projecting. 

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said he needs further clarity on the path of inflation before lowering interest rates

The Federal Reserve held firm on its current interest rate levels after its latest meeting, but inflation numbers are leading to talk of potential action in third and fourth quarters.

Forty-four percent of respondents said they expect Trump to seek to to politicize the central bank or limit its power if he returns to the White House. Overall, they put a probability of 40% on the Fed losing its autonomy under a second Trump administration. 

Beth Hammack, who stepped down as the bank's co-head of global finance earlier this year, will take the helm as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland later this summer following the retirement of longtime President Loretta Mester.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr Monday spoke at length about efforts to enhance banks' liquidity and long-term debt positions after last year's bank failures while saying little about the capital hikes in the embattled interagency Basel III endgame proposal.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there have been "no decisions" on the controversial capital reform plan, but banks and others who have criticized the proposal are eager for an indication about what's next.