Fed to keep rates higher for longer

The Federal Reserve will push rates higher than previously expected and keep them there for an extended period, Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday, in remarks likely intended to underscore the Fed’s single-minded focus on combating stubborn inflation.

Powell also signaled in a written speech to the Brookings Institution that the Fed may increase its key interest rate by a smaller increment at its December meeting, only a half-point, after four straight three-quarter point hikes. But Powell also stressed that the smaller hike shouldn’t be taken as a sign the Fed will let up on its inflation fight anytime soon.