Federal Reserve officials wrap up a two-day meeting today. Read Nick Timiraos's preview below, follow updates to his story here and track our live markets coverage here. —Jeff Sparshott

Federal Reserve officials are set to hold interest rates steady this week at a 23-year high, putting the focus on what, if anything, they say about when they might lower rates. At their last three meetings, central-bank officials made no changes to their policy rate but debated whether they had to raise rates more. Now, officials are turning their attention to when they might lower rates, though several have signaled they are in no hurry. Officials will release a new policy statement at 2 p.m. ET. Because there will be no economic or rate projections, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s news conference at 2:30 p.m. will be heavily analyzed for signs about when and how the central bank might shift its policy stance this year. WSJ's Nick Timiraos has what to watch.

• Two Ways the Fed’s Rate Moves Could Help Home Buyers in 2024 (Read)
• Heard on the Street: Will a Hiring Slowdown Push the Fed to Cut Rates Soon? (Read)

ADP's employment report is expected to show that the U.S. private sector added 150,000 jobs in January. (8:15 a.m. ET)

The U.S. employment-cost index for the fourth quarter is expected to rise 1% from the prior quarter. (8:30 a.m. ET)

The Chicago Business Barometer is expected to rise to 48.0 in January from 46.9 one month earlier. (9:45 a.m. ET) 

The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady at the conclusion of a policy meeting at 2 p.m. ET. Chair Jerome Powell holds a press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET. Watch the press conference live here.

United Parcel Service said it planned to shed about 12,000 jobs this year and mandated staff work from offices five days a week starting March 4, as the package-delivery company seeks to boost productivity amid a protracted slowdown in business. The cuts are primarily targeted at worldwide management staff and contract workers—unionized package handling and transportation workers, who account for the bulk of UPS’s 495,000 employees, aren’t affected. Many U.S. companies are laying people off as executives look to trim costs, eliminate redundant roles and speed decision-making, Esther Fung reports.

• PayPal to Cut Global Workforce by 9% as Part of Turnaround Plan (Read)
• Layoffs in 2024: A List of Companies Cutting Jobs This Year (Read)

UPS on Tuesday joined a small group of large companies pushing for a return to what has become an anomaly in American worklife: five days in the office. The delivery giant followed JPMorgan Chase and Boeing among employers requiring full-time attendance for at least some segment of their workforces. WSJ's Chip Cutter explains why some bosses are losing patience with remote work.

Despite some high-profile layoff announcements, U.S. consumers are feeling pretty good about the economy. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for January rose to its highest level since December 2021. Assessments of current business and labor-market conditions jumped to the highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The share of consumers saying jobs were "hard to get" fell to 9.8%, the second-lowest in records dating back to 1978. (The figure was lower at 9.6%, in July 2000 and March 2022.) And inflation expectations fell to the lowest level since March 2020.

Republicans generally love tax cuts, but some in the party are objecting to a bipartisan deal for $78 billion in breaks for businesses and low-income families. The deal—which would revive business tax breaks and expand the child tax credit—sailed through the House Ways and Means Committee 40-3 this month, with the only votes against it coming from Democrats. Then, the plan started picking up Republican opposition. WSJ's Richard Rubin and Lindsay Wise explain what happened.

The poster child of China’s property crisis is no more. But the mess that triggered the downfall of China Evergrande is far from over. A Hong Kong court on Monday ordered Evergrande’s liquidation after creditors once again failed to reach a deal on restructuring its debts. The blow fell more than two years after Evergrande’s default on its dollar bonds ushered in a dangerous new phase in China’s efforts to rein in one of the largest real-estate booms in history. WSJ's Jason Douglas and Stella Yifan Xie explain why the pain from the sector’s slow-motion collapse is likely to be felt just as acutely this year as last.

• Heard on the Street: The Real Evergrande Reckoning Is for China’s Foreign Creditors (Read)

Several prominent commentaries by economists and journalists in China have vanished from the internet in recent weeks, raising concerns that Beijing is stepping up its censorship efforts as it tries to put a positive spin on a struggling economy. WSJ's Jonathan Cheng looks at the calls to “promote the bright prospects of China’s economy”—and the warnings to be wary of those who denigrate it.

• China Factory Activity Contracts for Fourth Straight Month (Read)

These are humbling times for Europe. The continent barely escaped recession late last year as the U.S. boomed. It is losing out to the U.S. on artificial intelligence, and to China on electric vehicles. There is one field where the European Union still leads the world: regulation. Having set the standard on regulating mergers, carbon emissions, data privacy and e-commerce competition, the EU now seeks to do the same on AI. Never before has “America innovates, China replicates, Europe regulates” so aptly captured each region’s comparative advantage, Greg Ip writes.

Real Time Economics comes to you from WSJ reporters and editors around the world. Today's issue was curated and edited by Jeff Sparshott (@jeffsparshott) and Greg Ip (@greg_ip) in Washington, D.C., and editors in London.

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