As inflation cools, the Fed must choose: Stay on the gas or tap the brakes

The Federal Reserve spent most of last year in emergency mode, scrambling to catch up to inflation. Now central bankers agree that phase of their work is wrapping up. Fed officials will convene for their first policy meeting of the year on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, when they'll raise interest rates for the eighth time in a row to combat pandemic-era inflation.