Fed minutes indicate officials favored further aggressive rate hikes
Federal Reserve officials agreed at their June policy meeting that they would have to increase the speed and size of their interest-rate hikes to cool the economy and curb high inflation, according to minutes of the meeting released Wednesday and reported on by The Wall Street Journal.
"Participants concurred that the economic outlook warranted moving to a restrictive stance of policy," the minutes said. A "restrictive stance" refers to rates high enough to slow economic growth.
Fed officials made a rare 0.75 percentage point increase to their benchmark short-term interest rate, the biggest hike since 1994. Since the meeting, some of the central bank's leaders have suggested they would support another such hike at their July meeting. The aggressive Fed position has stoked concerns of a possible recession.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures Firing shells, burning ballots, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US Published
-
The Great Mughals: a 'treasure trove' of an exhibition
The Week Recommends The V&A's new show is 'spell-binding'
By The Week UK Published
-
Damian Barr shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The writer and broadcaster picks works by Alice Walker, Elif Shafak and others
By The Week UK Published
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraud
Speed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strike
Speed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US economy still strong in final preelection report
Speed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strike
Speed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strike
Speed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Fed cuts rates half a point, hinting victory on inflation
Speed Read This is the Fed's first cut in two years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US job growth revised downward
Speed Read The US economy added 818,000 fewer jobs than first reported
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US inflation drops below 3%, teeing up rate cuts
Speed Read This solidifies expectations that the Federal Reserve will finally cut interest rates in September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published