Introduction

Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2018. This came despite an increasingly volatile economic landscape that includes the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine plus the supply chain impacts of COVID-19 shutdowns in China. NLW breaks down the market’s reaction to the anticipated hike, and explores how quantitative tightening is likely to proceed from here.

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“The Breakdown” is written, produced by and features Nathaniel Whittemore aka NLW, with editing by Rob Mitchell, research by Scott Hill and additional production support by Eleanor Pahl. Adam B. Levine is our executive producer and our theme music is “Countdown” by Neon Beach. The music you heard today behind our sponsor is “I Don't Know How To Explain It” by Aaron Sprinkle. Image credit: Nuthawut Somsuk/Getty Images, modified by CoinDesk. Join the discussion at discord.gg/VrKRrfKCz8.