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It’s Fed day, Biden gets personal, and Tesla reports. Decision timeWhile today’s Federal Reserve decision is not expected to announce any im [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( It’s Fed day, Biden gets personal, and Tesla reports. Decision time While today’s Federal Reserve decision is not expected to announce any [immediate change](, policy makers are likely to signal a rate hike in March. There may also be discussions on the shrinking of the central banks $8.87 trillion balance sheet — so-called [quantitative tightening](. Despite recent calls for a [50 basis point hike]( at the March meeting, that is still seen as unlikely by most economists. There are no updated economic forecasts today, but there is a [press conference]( with Fed Chair Jerome Powell at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time in which he likely to try to retain some flexibility on policy. Personal The latest threat from President Joe Biden as he tries to deter Russia from an invasion of Ukraine is [against Vladimir Putin](. Biden said he would consider personally sanctioning the Russian leader, a threat which a Kremlin spokesman said would be tantamount to breaking off relations. Officially, Putin only owns an apartment and three cars. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signaled that Moscow would respond to any “[aggressive](” action by the U.S. and its allies. European powers remain focused on a [diplomatic solution]( to the standoff, as many remain [reliant on gas supplies]( from the east. Tesla It’s another busy day for earnings, with Tesla Inc.’s results after the bell among the most keenly anticipated. Among the things investors will be looking for are details about when production will begin at new factories in Austin and Berlin. Focus will also be on any sales projections for 2022 after the company surprised with [record deliveries]( in the fourth quarter. BloombergNEF analysts see 10 million electric cars being sold globally this year, with [Tesla’s Model Y]( seen as the best-selling model. The company got some good news yesterday when Moody’s Investors Services Inc. raised its [credit rating by two notches]( to just below investment grade. Markets rally Global equity gauges are bouncing back this morning as strategists from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Citigroup Inc. saying it’s time to [buy the dip in stocks](. Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.1% while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.3% lower. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index had rallied 2% by 5:50 a.m. with travel names surging. S&P 500 futures pointed to a [jump at the open](, with Nasdaq futures also pointing to a strong performance. The 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.789%, oil was [above $86 a barrel]( and [gold slipped](. Coming up... U.S. wholesale inventories and advanced goods trade numbers for December are at 8:30 a.m. The Bank of Canada is likely to [announce a rate hike]( at 10:00 a.m. U.S. new home sales data for December is also at that time. Latest U.S. crude oil inventories are at 10:30 a.m. The Fed rate decision is at 2:00 p.m. It is another monster day for earnings with AT&T Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corp., Nasdaq Inc., Intel Corp., Levi Strauss & Co. and Whirlpool Corp. among the many names reporting.  What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the last 24 hours. - Market selloff is ultimate test of what’s real and [what’s not](. - Stocks [trading on fumes]( probably aren’t keeping the Fed awake. - China to start [three-year crackdown]( on money laundering. - Mark Zuckerberg’s [stablecoin ambitions]( unravel. - The Nor’easter approaching New York risks becoming a [bomb cyclone](. - Marine Le Pen slams far-right presidential candidate as [too extreme]( even for her. - Tonga undersea volcano eruption released up to [18 megatons]( of energy. And finally, here’s what Joe’s interested in this morning Good morning and Happy Fed Day. For weeks now, people have been talking non-stop about inflation and how many rate hikes we're going to see this year. So finally we'll actually get some news. The one thing we know for sure is that there's been a real pivot towards concern about inflation. This is happening both inside the Fed and outside the Fed. Last week President Biden seemed to [give his tacit endorsement to an inflation-fighting Fed](. This won't necessarily influence FOMC policy in any way, but it does show that there's both an economic and political consensus that inflation, not employment, is the side to work on. Meanwhile, [mainstream]( [media]( [outlets]( are all warning more and more about the costs of inflation, which is interesting. Though again, that's more a reflection of the new intellectual climate than what that the Fed will do. If there's one thing I'm interested in specifically it's what Powell says about balance sheet shrinkage. This will presumably be part of the Fed's playbook in 2022, but the question is, do members of the FOMC see balance sheet shrinkage as a possible substitute for rate hikes? As I wrote three weeks ago, such a trade (more QT, fewer rate hikes) might actually be dovish, [even if it's not intended to be as such](. In a note to clients out yesterday, Steve Englander of Standard Chartered said the same thing, that it might not take much to get a market-friendly outcome from the meeting. "If Powell says that the FOMC is committed to getting inflation on track and still hopeful that a couple of hikes combined with some QT will be enough, that is dovish by market pricing." Either way, this is just the start of what's likely going to be a big year for the Fed, and while right now people are homing in on four rate hikes for the year, so much will happen over the next 11 months, deviations both to the upside and downside seem plausible. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter [@TheStalwart]( Like Bloomberg's Five Things? [Subscribe for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Follow Us Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Americas newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](