Types of News: Brief

No Curveballs Or Surprises In Fed's March Meeting March 16, 2022—For the first time in three years, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its Fed Funds Rate. The 0.25 percent change is the minimal increase it could take. Moreover, it comes as no surprise to the public or to financial markets, That's because the Fed previously announced its plans to begin increasing rates. Since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic with strong growth, many analysts criticized the Fed for moving too slow to raise rates as the U.S. prices rose. As the economy reopened from the pandemic, the inflation rate increased steadily to nearly 8 percent a year. "The time for rate increases has clearly come," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his video meeting with reporters today. "We have to restore price stabi...

March 10, 2022--The Consumer Price Index increased to 0.8 percent in February, bringing the annualized inflation rate to 7.9 percent, the Labor Department reported today. The goods with the highest price increases include gasoline, shelter and food. Gas prices rose 6.6 percent in February alone and are continuing to rise. They increased 38 percent for the year. Meanwhile, energy services, such as electricity and utility, rose 43 percent over a 12-month period. Also, the index for food prices experienced the largest monthly jump of 2.3 percent since March 2010. The inflation figures are likely to factor into the Federal Reserve's decision-making meeting on March 15-16. The next release date for inflation figures is April 12.