WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is expected to cut its short-term rate Wednesday for the second time this year despite an increasingly cloudy view of the economy it is trying to influence.

What You Need To Know

The Federal Reserve is expected to cut its short-term rate Wednesday for the second time this year despite an increasingly cloudy view of the economy it is trying to influence

The data drought raises risks for the Fed because it is widely expected to keep cutting rates in an effort to shore up growth and hiring

Yet should job gains pick up soon, the Fed may not detect the change

And if hiring rebounds after weak job gains during the summer, further rate cuts may not be justified

The government shutdown has cut off the flow of data that the Fed relies on to track employmen

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