NOVEMBER 3, 2022:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sought to strike a delicate balance at a moment when high inflation is bedeviling the nation’s economy and commanding a central role in the midterm elections. Powell suggested that the Fed may decide in coming months to slow its aggressive interest rate increases. Yet he also made clear that the Fed isn’t even close to declaring victory in its fight to curb an inflation rate that is near four-decade highs. The Fed pumped up its key rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a fourth straight time. It was the sixth rate hike this year — a streak that has made mortgages and other consumer and business loans increasingly expensive.
NOVEMBER 2, 2022:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Looming over the Federal Reserve meeting that ends Wednesday (Nov. 2, 2022) is a question of intense interest: Just how high will the Fed’s inflation-fighters raise interest rates — and might they slow their rate hikes as soon as next month? The Fed is expected to announce a hefty three-quarter-point hike in its key short-term rate — its fourth straight — which will lead to still-higher loan rates for many businesses and consumers. What many Fed-watchers hope is that Chair Jerome Powell will hint at a news conference that the central bank may ease the pace of its hikes, perhaps to a half-point in December and two quarter-point hikes next year.
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