72-hour countdown to the Federal Reserve rate meeting.

The market widely expects another 25 basis point cut this month, in line with the current global wave of monetary easing—Japan is going the other way with a rate hike, but most other major economies are injecting liquidity. Domestically, there’s a high probability that mortgage rates will drop below 3% next year, so for those with home or car loans, the monthly payment pressure should ease a bit.

However, during a rate-cutting cycle, the cost of holding cash is also rising invisibly, so it’s important to do the math carefully.