ORLANDO, Florida – The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates next week even though inflation is still around 3%, a full percentage point above the official goal. This raises an uncomfortable question: is the central bank’s 2% inflation target still viable? Data on Thursday is expected to show that annual core CPI inflation held steady in August at 3.1%. Annual core PCE inflation, the Fed’s preferred measure, was 2.9% in July. …The prospect of the Fed easing policy for the second time in a year with core inflation at 3% is a big deal – and may be yet another sign that the economic orthodoxy of recent decades is being tested or trashed. Inflation hawks fear it’s the latter. …But it’s difficult to argue that financial markets are overly worried about the potential loosening of the Fed’s 2% target.