What to expect as Kevin Warsh leads his first Fed interest rate meeting

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh will hold his first press conference on Wednesday, offering borrowers and investors a chance to assess his plans to keep the U.S. economy on track. Warsh, who has vowed that the Fed will remain " strictly independent " in overseeing monetary policy, last month succeeded former chair Jerome Powell at a difficult juncture, with inflation surging to its highest level in more than three years. At the same time, President Trump has previously underlined his eagerness for the Fed to lower interest rates, the central bank's main tool for spurring economic growth. Yet Warsh could also benefit from some economic tailwinds, including robust job growth in recent months. With investors overwhelmingly expecting the Fed to keep its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday, the focus will be on Warsh himself and his handling of the press conference that follows the central bank's policy statement, economists told CBS News. "The story at this meeting is not what's going to happen with rates — that's pretty much a foregone conclusion," said NerdWallet senior economist Elizabeth Renter. …