At 2:00pm, the FOMC policy committee meets to discuss—once again—whether it will introduce an interest rate hike that would be the first one in close to nine years.

Investors and analysts alike are waiting to hear what Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her committee will decide. But they do not expect any surprises and are skeptical that any policy changes will be introduced.

There will be no rate increase in October… A move closer to the end of the year, to be discussed at the scheduled  December 15-16th meeting, is a definite possibility.

Here’s what will and will not happen at or be reported from the FOMC policy meeting:

There will be no rate increase in October as a result of economic weakness in global economies as well as a slowdown in employment rates in the U.S. A move closer to the end of the year, to be discussed at the scheduled December 15-16th meeting is a definite possibility.

Yellen will not make a speech after today’s session; a quarterly news conference is scheduled for the December meeting.

December Hike Doubtful

If the Fed committee points out sluggish U.S. inflation or the ‘continued monitoring of developments abroad’ this would suggest that its concern for the U.S. economic growth has dampened somewhat and even a December a rate hike is not in the offing.

In addition, anything that even squeaks of increased worries about overseas weakness and the rise of the U.S. dollar could be taken as a sure sign that chances of a rate liftoff any time soon is practically nil.

The Fed has said in the past that it won’t raise rates until officials are “reasonably confident” that inflation will rise toward the central bank’s 2% annual target. Not everyone agrees that this is the way to go with Yellen and Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer on one side insisting that inflation will accelerate as the labor market continues to improve, requiring higher interest rates to keep it in check and other Fed officials taking the other view and arguing for a cautious approach to raising rates.