Headline Roundup • January 26th, 2022
Citing Inflation and Jobs Growth, Federal Reserve Signals Interest Rate Hike 'Soon'
Banking And Finance,Economy And Jobs,Federal Reserve,Interest Rates,Jerome Powell,Economic Policy,Unemployment,GDP,Inflation
Summary from the AllSides News Team
With “inflation well above 2 percent and a strong labor market,” the Federal Reserve suggested Wednesday that it would soon raise its benchmark interest rate. Many experts expect the rate hike to come in March.
“Progress on vaccinations and an easing of supply constraints are expected to support continued gains in economic activity and employment as well as a reduction in inflation,” the central bank said in a statement. Key to the Fed’s interest rate decision is the fear that higher rates would hurt economic growth and employment; major stock indexes turned negative on Wednesday after the central bank’s announcement. Addressing those concerns, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, “I think there’s quite a bit of room to raise interest rates without threatening the labor market.” The benchmark interest rate in question is the federal funds rate, the rate at which banks lend to each other overnight to meet asset reserve requirements. The Fed last raised interest rates in December 2018.
Coverage was mostly balanced and more common in business-focused outlets. Coverage in some outlets on the right emphasized 2021’s high inflation; a Fox Business (Lean Right) headline included the phrase “interest rate hike could come 'soon' as inflation rages.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
Ted Shaffrey/AP
Stocks staged another late-day reversal Wednesday, giving up their gains and adding to the week’s breathtaking volatility after the Federal Reserve signaled that interest hikes are indeed around the corner.
After trading higher most of the day, the Dow Jones industrial average shed more than 600 points following the Fed’s policy announcement. It cut some of its losses to settle at 34,168.09, down 129.64 points, or about 0.4 percent. A day earlier, the blue-chip index limped out of a tumultuous session that saw it stage a more than 1,000-point comeback...
The Federal Reserve has signaled that the first interest rate hike in years is on the horizon as it moves to leave its pandemic crisis posture and limit inflation.
The Federal Open Market Committee released its decision Wednesday after a two-day monetary policy meeting. The central bank said in a statement that "it will soon be appropriate to raise" its interest rate target.
Facing both turbulent financial markets and raging inflation, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday indicated it could soon raise interest rates for the first time in more than three years as part of a broader tightening of historically easy monetary policy.
In a move that came as little surprise, the Fed’s policymaking group said a quarter-percentage point increase to its benchmark short-term borrowing rate is likely forthcoming. It would be the first rise since December 2018.
Chairman Jerome Powell added that the Fed could move on an aggressive path.
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