Cutting Through the Rate-Hike Hype

Let's take a deep breath: It shouldn't matter that much whether the Federal Reserve decides this week to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, or possibly even less. And the prospect of an increase certainly shouldn't produce dire warnings about another "Lehman moment" that would lead to global economic and financial calamity.

Yet the possibility that Fed officials may decide to begin to raise rates has been the central public preoccupation of many market participants, economists and former policy makers.