Federal Reserve Hikes Interest Rates up .5%, Slowing Pace of Increases

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced an interest rate hike of 0.5 percent, easing up a bit after a series of much higher increases.. In a statement, the Fed pointed to supply chain issues and high food and energy prices due to Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine as main factors for inflation continuing to stay high.. Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for…