Interest Rates Recently Did Something They Haven't Done Since March 2020, and It Could Trigger a Big Move in the Stock Market

The U.S. Federal Reserve has two main objectives: Keeping the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation increasing at an annualized rate of 2%, and maintaining full employment in the economy (although there is no specific target for the unemployment rate).The Fed adjusts the federal funds rate (overnight interest rate) to help it achieve those objectives. For example, it embarked on one of the most aggressive campaigns to hike interest rates in its history in 2022, when the Consumer Price Index (CPI) surged to a 40-year high of 8%. Thankfully, inflation has cooled significantly since then, which allowed the Fed to cut interest rates in September for the first time since March 2020. It followed that up with another cut in November, and there could be more on the way.Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool