The daily business briefing: March 9, 2023

Fed Chair Jerome Powell says rate hikes depend on economic data, Biden's budget would raise taxes on businesses and investors to reduce deficits, and more

Jerome Powell removes his glasses and rests them against his chin
(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

1. Fed chair tells House lawmakers rate hikes depend on economic data

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told House lawmakers Wednesday in his second day of congressional testimony that the size of the central bank's next interest rate hike to fight inflation would depend on the latest economic data. Powell said Fed leaders were keeping an open mind heading into their next meeting this month. On Tuesday, he told a Senate committee that it might be necessary for the Fed to raise rates higher and longer than previously anticipated, given recent data showing that a string of aggressive increases to borrowing costs hadn't slowed the economy as much as hoped. "I stress that no decision has been made on this," Powell told the House Financial Services Committee.

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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.