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Federal Reserve holds its interest rate steady. Here’s what that means.
Federal Reserve officials capped their first monetary policy meeting of 2024 by leaving the central bank’s benchmark interest rate unchanged, a decision that was widely expected on Wall Street. But policy makers signaled they expect to cut rates later this year, heightening investor focus on exactly when the Fed might release the brakes on the U.S. economy for the first time in two years.
Members of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s rate-setting panel, said Wednesday in a policy statement that they will hold the federal funds rate in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, marking the fourth consecutive pause since July, when it last hiked rates. In December, the central bank forecast three rate hikes this year.
“The committee does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%,” the central bank said in its statement.
The Fed started boosting rates in March of 2021 in a bid to temper the hottest inflation in four decades. That policy is paying off as consumer prices cool and as the overall U.S. economy remains strong, with low unemployment and robust GDP growth.
“As the incoming economic data make clear, there is little reason for the Fed to act quickly,” noted Michael Pearce, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, told investors in a January 26 report. “While inflation continues to quickly normalize, the Fed can be patient in moving toward rate cuts because of the resilience of the real economy.”
About 4 in 10 Wall Street economists are now projecting that the Fed will move to cut rates in March, with its next rate meeting set for March 19-20, according to financial data provider FactSet. About 9 in 10 economists are penciling in a rate cut at the central bank’s following meeting, scheduled for April 30-May 1.
The Fed’s flurry of rate hikes since the pandemic slammed the economy has made it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow, ratcheting up the cost of mortgages, car loans and and credit card debt. Rate cuts could provide some relief to Americans who have put off home or car purchases due to the higher cost of borrowing.
But experts warn that a premature move to cut rates could open the door to renewed inflation.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.