The stock market and economy have struggled significantly this year due to multi-decade high inflation, aggressive monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve, the economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the growing possibility of a recession.
The Fed raised interest rates this year at the fastest since the 1980s, including 75 basis point hikes in the last four meetings to combat persistently high inflation. Since the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for October came in cooler than expected, Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted that the central bank is prepared to downshift the size of rate increases at its meeting this month.
