A failure on the scale of Evergrande would hit the economy, and spell financial ruin for ordinary households. The ratings agency Fitch said this month that default "appears probable." Moody's, another ratings agency, said Evergrande was out of cash and time. Panic from investors could also shake global financial markets and make it harder for other Chinese companies to continue to finance their businesses with foreign investment. On Monday, the company's woes began to bleed into the broader market. Investors sold off the Hong Kong-listed shares of some of China's biggest property developers as worries grew that Evergrande's spiraling debt woes could affect the financing abilities of other developers at a time of heightened regulatory scrutiny. But economists did not expect the situation to upend the Federal Reserve's meeting this week. "It's a risk, certainly," said Gennadiy Goldberg, a rates strategist at T.D. Securities.