Opening Bell: 9.17.26

Warsh Takes Hawkish Turn With Rate Rise and Hints of More to Come [WSJ]Warsh said the quarter-point move “removed a dose of accommodation.” In central-bank parlance, accommodation means stimulus, so the phrase suggested officials don’t think rates are restraining the economy even after lifting them…. “If you don’t even think you’re restrictive and oil isn’t going anywhere, you’ve got some work to do,” said Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley. After the meeting, he revised his forecast to anticipate a total of three rate increases, including Wednesday’s, up from two.Did Warsh Really Seek Trump’s Blessing to Hike Rates? [WSJ]“I talked to Kevin,” Trump told reporters. “I said ‘you might as well vote with the board because it’s not going to matter.’ The board is very hostile. They are very political. They are doing the wrong thing. They are a bunch of politicians.”Trump Looks Isolated on Interest Rates [DealBook]While Trump’s comments cast Warsh as powerless against the board, Warsh made it clear that the decision to raise rates was his own — underscoring central bank independence despite pressure from the president who appointed him…. That signals new friction between the president and the central bank, as Warsh makes combating inflation his highest priority….After the decision, the president wrote on social media that “Interest Rates in the United States should be 1%, or less.” He added, “LOWER THE INTEREST RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND FAST!”Why the Bank of England Didn’t Follow the Fed in Raising Interest Rates [WSJ]“So far higher global energy costs have had a limited effect on price and wage setting in the U.K. But the longer this volatility persists, the bigger the impact it will have on inflation, and the more likely it is we will need to raise bank rate,” said Gov. Andrew Bailey.SEC clears path for tokenized stocks, bringing the market closer to 24/7 trading [CNBC]The long-awaited move by the securities regulator comes two days after the Clarity Act, crypto’s most consequential push for regulatory certainty, failed to advance in the Senate. The crypto market structure bill would have established clear rules for how digital assets, including tokenized securities, are classified and regulated. Now the SEC is moving to define that regulatory boundary through its existing authority.Ways and Means approves crypto tax bill on bipartisan vote [Politico]Even advocates for the crypto plan said it was only a start at addressing myriad issues associated with digital assets, especially after Smith dropped key provisions addressing when mining and staking awards — the compensation people receive for helping process crypto transactions — ought to be taxed. Democrats had balked at Smith’s plan to allow people to defer taxes on those awards.