Before every meeting of the Federal Reserve there is a blackout period in which the members have to refrain from talking to the public and the media regarding the state of the economy and their policies. This particular blackout period, which starts in a few days, takes on special importance because it is also the period before the election. With so much noise going on during the next two weeks, any organization being quiet will be something of a pleasure.

However, we should not lose sight of the fact that the Fed meets right after the election with a potential rate-cut in the cards. And as close as the election is predicted to be—there is a chance that a winner will not be known as the meeting progresses. There may be counting of ballots still occurring. The Federal Reserve prides itself on being “non-political” and therefore, the results of the election should not affect their decision on rate policy one way or the other.

There will be some important data released before all this happens. First, we should see the advanced reading of economic growth for the third quarter. We had solid growth in the first half of the year and any sign of weakness could solidify the case for another rate cut. We will also see reports on personal income, spending and personal expenditure inflation for September. Then comes the election just before the Fed meets. And the data does not stop there, as at the end of the first week of November we will have the October jobs report.