Federal Reserve holds rates steady. Here's what that means for your money.
CBSN
Federal Reserve officials said they are leaving their benchmark rate untouched, a decision expected by economists and Wall Street after inflation ticked upward during the first three months of 2024.
The Fed on Wednesday said it is keeping the federal funds rate in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, the same level it has held since the central bank's July 2023 meeting, which is its highest level in more than 20 years.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has repeatedly said the central bank prefers to keep rates high until inflation retreats to about 2% on an annual basis, rather than risking cutting too early and fueling another round of price spikes. Despite the Fed's flurry of interest rate hikes, inflation remains stubbornly high, with March prices rising 3.5% from a year earlier, fueled by higher housing and gasoline prices.
President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.
It's Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is suiting up for his annual voyage from the North Pole to households around the world. In keeping with decades of tradition, the North American Aerospace Command, or NORAD, will once again track Santa's journey to deliver gifts to children before Christmas 2024, using an official map that's updated consistently to show where he is right now.
An anti-money laundering law called the Corporate Transparency Act, or CTA, appears to have been given new life after an appeals court on Monday determined its rules can be enforced as the case proceeds. The law requires small business owners to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, by Jan. 1, or potentially pay fines of up to $10,000.