Rates Raised Again

The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by a quarter point to 1.5 to stave off inflation. The news came on the heels of a lackluster increase of 32,000 new jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, which had optimistically anticipated 240,000 jobs would be added in July. This marked the second month in which the Fed raised rates. In June, the Fed increased the federal funds rate by a quarter point to 1.25. The Fed’s decision to raise rates was unanimous and signaled a belief that any hitches in the economic recovery are temporary.