Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is known for providing clear signals about the central bank’s next interest rate move in order to avoid roiling markets. But Wall Street was mostly clueless this week when it came to predicting how big a rate cut the Fed would deliver on Wednesday.

The US Fed expects to move more slowly than the market expects, even though but everyone agrees on the direction, and on the final target of just a tad below 3%.

This reader wonders whether CD rates, high-yield savings accounts and bond ladders are still smart moves, even if interest rates keep dropping.