Federal Reserve Raises Rates 0.25% to 3.45%-4%, Lifting Loan Costs
Updated
Updated · WNDU · Sep 22
Federal Reserve Raises Rates 0.25% to 3.45%-4%, Lifting Loan Costs
3 articles · Updated · WNDU · Sep 22
Summary
The Fed lifted its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point — the first increase in three years — to a 3.45% to 4% range as it tries to curb inflation.
Higher rates are expected to hit big-ticket borrowing first, making car loans and mortgages more expensive and raising monthly payments for households already squeezed by prices.
Business borrowers also face steeper costs, with one local financial counselor saying some loan rates could rise from about 6% to roughly 9%.
More than 17% of Michiana residents live below the poverty line, leaving credit-card borrowers especially vulnerable as more of each payment goes to interest instead of principal.
Savers could see one upside from the move through better bank and credit-union deposit rates, even as advisers urge households to cut unnecessary spending.