- Higher interest rates make borrowing more expensive for shoppers and companies, cooling demand with the aim of curbing inflation.
- The Fed has raised rates five times this year.
- The central bank is expected to hike rates for a sixth time on Wednesday by a big amount: 0.75 percentage point.
The cost of almost everything continues to rise at a blistering pace.
While overall annual inflation slowed in September, it remained high at 8.2%, near a 40-year record. More alarming, the so-called core rate that excludes the volatile energy and food sectors accelerated, rising 6.6% for the largest 12-month increase in that index since August 1982 and demonstrating how widespread inflation has become.
Orlando Mayorquin | USA TODAY