Two years ago we featured on these pages Oumuamua, a comet masquerading as an alien space ship [link]. Last we heard it was heading out of the solar system.

Now the Crimean Astrophysics Observatory has detected another interstellar visitor – Borisov, named after its discoverer. About six miles in diameter, this comet has a hyperbolic orbit that will swing it close to the Earth just in time for Christmas.

“It might behave the same as comets from our own sun,” said one astronomer, “or it might not.”

Closer to home, similar uncertainty surrounds the behavior of interest rates. The Fed will signal to markets, after yesterday’s 25 bp rate cut, to expect one more this year, in its ongoing effort to combat a sluggish economy and trade worries. Or it might not.