As predicted, the Federal Reserve today raised its benchmark interest rate by a hefty three-quarters of a point for a second straight time in its most aggressive drive in three decades to tame high inflation.
The Fed’s move will raise its key rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, its highest level since 2018.
The central bank is betting that it can slow growth just enough to tame inflation yet not so much as to trigger a recession—a risk that many analysts fear may end badly.
The government is set to release its gross domestic product estimate for the April-June period on Thursday and some economists think it will show that the economy shrank for a second straight quarter. That would meet one long-standing assumption for when a recession has begun. Read the full story.
