Federal Reserve leaves interest rate unchanged. Now the question is when it might cut.
CBSN
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it is holding its benchmark interest rate steady, extending a reprieve for borrowers after the fastest series of hikes in four decades.
The central bank said it will maintain the federal funds rate in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, marking the third consecutive pause since July, when it last raised rates.
Fed officials have raised the federal funds rate 11 times since starting the tightening cycle in March of 2022 to combat the hottest inflation in 40 years. The strategy has largely succeeded in dousing inflation and even led prices to fall for some products, such as used cars, furniture and appliances.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched six space tourists on a high-speed dash to the edge of space and back Friday, giving the passengers — including a husband and wife making their second flight — about three minutes of weightlessness and an out-of-this world view before the capsule made a parachute descent to touchdown at the company's west Texas flight facility.