Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen could cement the case for a U.S. interest rate hike ahead of the Fed's Dec. 15-16 policy meeting, with public appearances over the next two days at a high-profile economics group and before a joint committee of Congress. When Yellen takes the stage at the Economic Club of Washington shortly after noon on Wednesday, she will do so with market expectations already aligned behind a December hike, and the flow of economic data since the Fed's last meeting offering no clear reason to hold back. The data has not all been great. Recent data on consumer spending and manufacturing have ... (full story)