Stocks traded in a wide range yesterday and finished lower after the Federal Reserve slashed its rate-hike outlook for 2019 to zero and said it expects the U.S. economy to grow at a slower rate this year.
 
The Fed brought down its 2019 rate-hike forecast to no increases down from two hikes.  The central bank also indicated it intends to end the reduction of its massive $4.2 trillion balance sheet by September.  Stocks initially rallied off their lows of the day on the announcement as traders cheered a more accommodative policy stance from the Fed, which is typically supportive of equity prices. However, the Fed’s announcement also dragged down yields, which in turn knocked bank stocks lower.  Shares of all the major US banks traded sharply lower. 
 
A new class-action lawsuit takes aim at real estate agents and their 6% commission.  The suit was filed in Chicago on behalf of anyone who sold a home through one of 20 of the largest listing services in the country over the past five years. It charges that the mighty Washington-based lobby National Association of Realtors, as well as the four largest national real estate brokerages, and the Multiple Listing Services they use, have conspired to require anyone selling a home to pay the commission of the broker representing their buyer “at an inflated amount,” in violation of federal antitrust law.  The suit is being brought by the lawyers who won some big cases against big tobacco.
 
With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, I'm Tyler Simones