Briefly

Fed rate hike likely means more expensive credit cards and mortgages, but savers may rejoice

WASHINGTON-The Federal Reserve just raised the cost of borrowing money-bad news for borrowers, good news for savers. The Fed increased its benchmark interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point, the first rate hike since the summer of 2023. The move will likely make it even costlier to borrow for homes, autos and other purchases. But if you've been socking money away, you'll probably earn a bit more interest on your savings.

US stocks slip after the Fed hikes interest rates and hints more increases may be on the way

NEW YORK-U.S. stocks slipped after the Federal Reserve hiked its main interest rate for the first time in three years and suggested more increases may be ahead as it tries to get the nation's high inflation under control. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% Wednesday after giving up a modest gain from earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite was nearly unchanged after edging down by less than 0.1%. Stocks turned lower after the Fed's chairman said repeatedly in a press conference that inflation remains too high and the U.S. economy appears to be strengthening.

Divisions emerge in the tech industry over calls for a coordinated AI slowdown

Concerns about artificial intelligence evading human control have intensified in recent days. Tech leaders, lawmakers and international officials are debating whether to slow AI development. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has proposed plans for slowing AI progress, including independent evaluations and government regulation. OpenAI's Sam Altman supports pacing development but not stopping it. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia's Jensen Huang oppose a coordinated slowdown, emphasizing market-driven safety. Elon Musk and Demis Hassabis agree with Amodei's caution, while President Donald Trump and some Republicans resist government intervention, seeing it as a threat to competitiveness.

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