Clinton says markets have 'already processed' a possible Fed rate hike

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton shops for Christmas items in a gift shop at Community Orchard in Fort Dodge, Iowa December 4, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Kauzlarich

FORT DODGE, Iowa (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Friday that world financial markets have "already processed" a possible interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. "The Fed has been signaling this for a very long time if they do make this decision by the end of the year ... I think the markets in the U.S. and the world will have already processed that and they have laid out what criteria they think should be applied," she told reporters after a campaign event. The U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday that employment increased at a healthy pace in November, in another sign of the economy's resilience, and will most likely be followed by the first Federal Reserve interest rate rise in a decade later this month.