The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25% on December 18, but an interest rate cut is unlikely when the Fed issues its next policy decision on January 29.

More importantly, inflation is also proving stubborn. Some argue that the Fed should be willing to tolerate (even if only implicitly, rather than explicitly) inflation being a bit higher for a bit longer than it theoretically should. Mohamed A. El-Erian over on Bloomberg Opinion explains this “3% inflation target” view here.

The officials are set to reduce their benchmark rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, by a quarter-point to about 4.3% when their meeting ends Wednesday.