What Matters Today 1 FOMC opens today — most consequential meeting of the year; first dot plot with oil shock; 99.2% hold at 3.50–3.75%; core PCE at 3.1%; Goldman pushes first cut to September; half the Committee may project zero cuts for 2026; Powell’s press conference Wednesday 2:30pm ET The Federal Reserve begins its two-day […] The post USA & Canada Intelligence Brief — March 17, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times .