Fed attacks inflation with its largest rate hike since 1994: Thursday, June 16

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday intensified its drive to tame high inflation by raising its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point — its largest hike in nearly three decades — and signaling more large rate increases to come that would raise the risk of another recession.

The move the Fed announced after its latest policy meeting will increase its benchmark short-term rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%.

The central bank is ramping up its drive to tighten credit and slow growth with inflation having reached a four-decade high of 8.6%, spreading to more areas of the economy and showing no sign of slowing. Americans are also starting to expect high inflation to last longer than they had before. This sentiment could embed an inflationary psychology in the economy that would make it harder to bring inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target.

The Fed’s three-quarter-point rate increase exceeds the half-point hike that Chair Jerome Powell had previously suggested was likely to be announced this week. The Fed’s decision to impose a rate hike as large as it did Wednesday was an acknowledgment that it's struggling to curb the pace and persistence of inflation, which has been worsened by Russia’s war against Ukraine and its effects on energy prices.

Borrowing costs have already risen sharply across much of the U.S. economy in response to the Fed’s moves, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate topping 6%, its highest level since before the 2008 financial crisis, up from just 3% at the start of the year. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, a benchmark for corporate borrowing, has jumped to 3.3%, its highest level since 2007.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/fed-rate-hike/507-712efdf8-4e15-42f6-a21e-9c5b33328ca7'

An exhibit highlighting photography will be without a photo taken during a Charlotte Pride event after a decision from the Gaston County manager.

The Gaston County Museum of Art and History is currently displaying Into the Darkroom, a photography exhibit aimed at showing photography's use as an art form and its place in history.

The exhibit uses photos from the 20th century, showcases vintage cameras, and features work from four modern photographers in Gaston County. One of these photographers, Grant Baldwin, used a photo he took at the 2019 Charlotte Pride Parade of two men kissing. Baldwin says the photo was taken during a marriage proposal.

However, shortly after opening the exhibit, this photo was removed.

Gaston County officials state this decision was made after Kim Eagle, the county manager, instructed museum staff to work with Baldwin to select another photograph to highlight.

"The idea behind the exhibit is to document a historical event, and there are other options from the photographer’s work that more fully capture the context of the parade that was documented," the county said in a statement.

The decision did not involve the museum's board of commissioners.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/lgbtq-photo-removed-from-gaton-county-museum-photographer-speaks-out-pride-men-kissing/275-f25200f5-8b5f-45a5-88ca-9da4edaf3f83

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