Who needs the Fed? The rate hike cometh on its own

``A wide range of short-term interest rates, which tend to be the most sensitive to Fed policy expectations, has been quietly grinding higher for weeks, or in some cases much longer. Several have even surpassed their levels of two years ago during the bond market's "taper tantrum," when prices dropped steeply and yields shot up as the Fed pondered whether to halt its massive asset-purchase program.''