How US Fed's jobs may get a lot more complicated after likely December hike

For Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the days of straightforward policy meetings are numbered.

An interest-rate increase at the Dec 18-19 gathering of the U.S. central bank is priced at around 70 percent odds and the case for a move, backed up by comments from Powell and his colleagues this week, is supported by strong economic growth and ultra-low unemployment.

But a hike next month would also lift the top Fed’s benchmark target rate to 2.5 percent -- the bottom of officials’ range of estimates for a neutral policy setting that neither spurs nor slows growth. Going forward, officials will have to