Between the lines: Fed chairman Jerome Powell told reporters during a press conference that in order to move rates up, inflation would need to move up in a persistent fashion. Inflation has consistently undershot the Fed's 2% target.

• The Fed's new dot plot released Wednesday, which lays out Fed members' interest rate projections down the line, shows interest rates eventually moving higher, not lower.
• Still, while the Fed projects interest rates moving up sometime in the future, it sees inflation pressures remaining fairly muted.
• "The relationship between slack in the economy and inflation is weak and has been weak," but there is still a relationship, Powell told reporters.

Fed policymakers have called out the trade war as a source of uncertainty that's hurt business investment.

• If USMCA were enacted, "it would remove trade policy certainty and that would be a positive for the economy," Powell said.
• Asked about the bigger source of economic uncertainty — USMCA in limbo or the U.S.-China trade war — Powell said one way to think about it is: "What's been moving financial markets ... it's been news about negations about US-China," not USMCA.

Go deeper: The market will need the Federal Reserve again in 2020

Details: CEOs are “cautious in the face of uncertainty over trade policy and an associated slowdown in global growth and the U.S. manufacturing sector,“ Business Roundtable points out. The survey was conducted prior to reports of progress with USMCA and a potential delay in another round of tariffs on Chinese imports.

• CEO plans for hiring and capital appending — two key drivers of economic growth — fell quarter over quarter.
• Expectations for sales growth, though, increased.

What they’re saying: “There has been progress in several policy areas that has strengthened the U.S. economy from top to bottom—but more progress needs to be made on free and fair trade agreements,” Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan CEO and chairman of Business Roundtable said in a press release.

• “CEOs are justified in their caution about the state of the U.S. economy. While we have achieved a competitive tax environment, uncertainty surrounding trade policy and slowing global growth are creating headwinds for business,” said Joshua Bolten, Business Roundtable’s CEO.

The bottom line: While recession fears have abated for now, the results reflect the corporate America’s pessimism about the future of the economy — which could impact hiring and spending decisions.

Go deeper: U.S. economy surprises with 266,000 new jobs in November