The Fed hit pause on interest rate increases for the first time in 11 meetings. It also signaled that it's going to raise rates twice more this year, which is more than we had expected. And I think that the message it sent was, we want to be cautious here. We want to try not to blow up the economy, but we're pretty darn worried about where inflation is headed.
Rapid inflation has been a problem in the United States for more than two years, but the tide appears to be turning. Annual inflation is now less than half of what it was last summer.
Jeanna Smialek, who covers the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for The Times, discusses whether the decline is a result of careful policymaking, or more of a lucky accident.
Guest: Jeanna Smialek, a Federal Reserve correspondent for The New York Times.
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