The daily business briefing: April 7, 2022

Fed minutes show support for bigger rate hikes, Big Oil tells lawmakers high pump prices aren't its fault, and more

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) makes opening remarks at a hearing on gas pump gouging
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) makes opening remarks at a hearing on gas pump gouging
(Image credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

1. Fed minutes show support for tougher action against inflation

The Federal Reserve released minutes from its most recent policy meeting that suggested it was prepared to take more aggressive steps to fight inflation. Fed officials said in the minutes from the March meeting that it "could be appropriate" to raise interest rates by a half-point, instead of the traditional quarter-point, several times this year. Several of the central bank's leaders backed a half-point hike at the March meeting, although the Fed wound up raising rates by just a quarter-point at the close of the two-day meeting. It was the Fed's first rate hike since 2018. One reason the Fed held back was uncertainty about the economic impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.