Markets calm ahead of FOMC decision. Apple chopped. Financial Review by Sinclair Noe for 04-26-2016 DOW + 13 = 17,990 SPX + 3 = 2091 NAS – 7 = 4888 10 Y + .03 = 1.93% OIL + .45 = 44.49 GOLD + 5.40 = 1244.30 The Federal Open Market Committee started a two day meeting today. No change in policy is anticipated at the meeting. The credit markets are mixed, although the thirty year Treasury bond futures are down for seven days in a row. The U.S. dollar is lower and most other currencies are higher as traders believe the pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes is slowing. The lower dollar has provided a boost to oil prices, which have climbed in the face of bad news. The Federal Reserve will certainly be considering oil prices as a component of inflation. The Fed began pulling back on its efforts to stimulate growth back in May 2013, when then-Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the central bank would likely begin to reduce the bond-buying known as quantitative easing; clearly the thinking was that we were getting close to the Fed’s target of 2% inflation, but that didn’t happen. The Fed has missed its inflation target, badly. The Fed might be well advised to hold off on any rate increases until the target is hit or even surpassed.   The CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, indicates a 0% probability of a rate increase in April and a 23% probability of a rate increase in ...