What happens if the Fed holds fewer policy meetings

Driving the news: The New York Times reported Friday that Warsh raised the idea of holding fewer meetings to discuss interest rates, citing four people familiar with the matter.

• Bloomberg later reported that he floated six rate-setting meetings each year, plus two meetings focused on broader economic issues.
• Any new schedule could be decided before the Fed's September meeting, according to the Times.

Zoom out: Warsh could make the change without congressional approval. The Federal Reserve Act requires the Fed's rate-setting committee to meet at least four times a year.

• The current eight-meeting schedule has been the norm since the 1980s.
• Next year's meeting dates, while noted as "tentative," have already been announced on the central bank's website.

Zoom in: Each of the Fed's eight scheduled policy meetings triggers weeks of staff analysis, briefing books and public communications. Fewer meetings would reduce the frequency of that process.

• It also would be consistent with Warsh's chairmanship so far: His communications strategy has been restrained on public policy guidance and in sharing his own views.
• The trade-off: If inflation unexpectedly accelerates — or the labor market suddenly weakens — the Fed might have to wait longer to act, unless it calls an unscheduled emergency meeting.