Powell Talks Tough After Liftoff
03/16/2022
By an 8-1 count, FOMC members voted to hike the overnight fed funds rate by a quarter point. The lone committee member not voting with the majority was St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who has made no secret of his preference for a larger 50 bps increase. The first rate hike since 2018 was widely expected, but it won’t be the last. In fact, the updated “dot plot” indicated committee members now anticipate another six before the year is over.