Economist Podcasts Getting more interesting: the Fed raises rates
Jul 28, 2022
Simon Rabinovich, the U.S. economics editor for The Economist, discusses the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate hikes and their delicate balancing act between cooling inflation and avoiding a recession. He dives into the rising costs in food and energy sectors and their broader implications on the economy and entrepreneurship. Additionally, the conversation touches on alarming allegations of data fabrication in Alzheimer's research, calling into question the credibility of drug development in this critical field.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Fed's Balancing Act
- The Federal Reserve aggressively raised interest rates to combat rising inflation.
- They aim for a "soft landing" to avoid a recession.
Aggressive Tightening
- The recent interest rate hike, a 2.5 percentage point increase in four months, marks the sharpest monetary tightening since the early 1980s.
- This rapid increase reflects the Fed's urgency to control inflation.
High Inflation
- US inflation hit a four-decade high of 9.1% in June, driven by high food and energy costs.
- Core inflation, excluding these volatile factors, remains high at an annualized rate of 8%.