The week ahead on Wall Street is largely about the Federal Reserve – not so much the widely expected interest rate cut, but what central bankers signal about the path forward. There are also two Club names holding investor days this week. But first, the Fed. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the market predicts a 25-basis-point cut on Wednesday afternoon at the conclusion of the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, with a small chance of a 50-point cut. Data on retail sales on Tuesday and housing starts on Wednesday morning could figure in the calculation. But, after last week’s high jobless claims count, this Thursday’s look at how many people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time will be a day too late to influence the Fed. Last week’s mixed inflation readings — cooler month-over-month August wholesale price data and hotter consumer price data — did not derail expectations for a total of 75 basis points of Fed rate reduction before year-end. In fact, another 25-basis-point cut has entered the conversation for January 2026. Investors will be most keen to glean clues from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell when he holds his post-meeting news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, about 30 minutes after the policy decision is released. The Fed has been on hold since last year’s 25-basis-point cut in December as Powell and company opted to wait and see how 100-basis-points of cuts at the end of 2024 would impact inflation and later whether President Donald Trump ‘s tariffs would rekindle price pressures. Consumer inflation rose 2.4% in September 2024 over the prior year, and continued to rise over the next few months, hitting 3% in January. It trended lower or stayed the same over the next three months, before creeping higher and registering 2.9% in August. While still concerned about inflation, Powell said in his Jackson Hole speech on Aug. 22 that he was more worried about slowing jobs growth, the other side of the Fed’s dual mandate of fostering price stability and maximum employment. The Fed chief said that shift in thinking “may warrant adjusting our policy stance.” It’s no wonder — nonfarm payrolls growth has been awful over the past three months, with August up just 22,000; July up 79,000; and June down 13,000. Since Powell’s comments, the S & P 500 has caught another leg higher in its upswing since this year’s Trump tariff lows in early April. The index closed Friday slightly lower, but up 1.6% for all of last week . Second, let’s turn to those investor days. Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike is hosting its Falcon conference in Las Vegas this week, with the keynote from CEO George Kurtz set for noon ET on Tuesday. Fal.Con 2025, as it is called. The company holds its investor day on Wednesday, which comes on the back of a disappointing CrowdStrike stock run since delivering a great quarter in late August. We used that pullback to upgrade the stock to our buy-equivalent 1 rating . We reiterated our price target at $520. CrowdStrike shares have had a terrible run, down 16% since all-time highs near $518 in early July. However, the stock was still up some 27% year to date. On Thursday, DuPont is holding an investor day to preview the new DuPont and Qnity Electronics – the two separate companies after the company’s upcoming electronics business spinoff, set for Nov. 1. The electronics business makes products that service the semiconductor industry, which has benefited from the AI trade. We last added to our position on Aug. 5 after an unwarranted stock drop on a solid quarter . At the time, we reiterated our 1 rating, where it still stands, and raised our price target to $90. Shares of DuPont, which have been locked in a bit of a spin purgatory , have been trending higher since the tariff lows in early April. The stock has gained just over 1.5% year to date. Week ahead Monday, Sept. 15 After the bell earnings: Dave & Buster’s (PLAY) Tuesday, Sept. 16 Day 1 of Fed meeting 8:30 a.m. ET: Retail sales (Aug) 9:15 a.m. ET: Industrial production and capacity utilization (Aug) 10 a.m. ET: Business inventories (July) 10 a.m. ET: National Association of Home Builders housing market index (Sept) Noon ET: CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz’s keynote at Fal.Con Wednesday, Sept. 17 Day 2 of Fed meeting Before the bell: General Mills (GIS) After the bell: Cracker Barrel (CRBL) 8:30 a.m. ET: Housing starts and building permits (Aug) 2 p.m. ET: Fed rate decision 2:30 p.m. ET: Fed Chairman Jerome Powell news conference CrowdStrike investor day Thursday, Sept. 18 Before the bell: Darden Restaurants (DRI) After the bell: FedEx (FDX) 8:30 a.m. ET: Weekly jobless claims (week ended Sept. 13) 8:30 a.m. ET: Philadelphia Fed index (Sept) 10 a.m. ET: Leading indicators (Aug) DuPont investor day Friday, Sept. 19 No major events scheduled (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long CRWD and DD. 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