Analysts at BMO said Fed Chr nominee........>

US VIEW: Analysts at BMO said Fed Chr nominee Powell's "credibility as an

inflation fighter will be a central question for 2018 and while the departure

point of core-PCE will be an important baseline, so will one's estimate of the

neutral rate of target Fed funds in this environment.

- They add that "we're well aware that defining 'neutral' Fed funds is akin to

determining for whom the bell tolls (unless, of course, it's for yourself),

nonetheless if one believes that anything above 2% represents the transition

from normalizing to tightening, then JP (Jerome Powell) will have his finger on

the tightening trigger as early as Q2 next year. Here is our logic, December is

done and we're anticipating a March hike for 'policy continuity' if nothing

else. That brings the target funds range to 1.50-1.75%, with the effective at

1.65% in that case."