
Federal Reserve hikes interest rates for the first time since 2018
CNN
The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates for the first time since 2018, the central bank announced Wednesday at the conclusion of its highly anticipated two-day monetary policy meeting.
The move marks the end of the Fed's pandemic-era easy money policy and comes amid soaring inflation across America. The federal funds rate now stands at 0.25-0.5%.
The quarter-percentage-point increase had been well telegraphed by the central bank, with Chair Pro Tempore Jerome Powell hinting at it repeatedly over the past few months. Earlier this month, Powell told lawmakers that he favored a quarter-point raise.

An initial reading of third-quarter gross domestic product showed the US economy expanded at an inflation-adjusted annualized rate of 4.3%, a far faster pace than the 3.8% recorded in the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday. That’s the fastest growth rate in two years.

Paramount has upped the ante in its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, announcing Monday that Larry Ellison will personally guarantee the tens of billions of dollars he is putting up to bankroll the transaction. The Ellisons will also let shareholders peer into the finances of their family trust.











