Officials at the Federal Reserve raised interest rates seven times last year in an attempt to get inflation under control, and most experts believe they’ll hike them again next month. Chair Jerome Powell has been hoping to avoid a recession throughout this process, enabling the U.S. economy to come in for a so-called “soft landing.” But over the past year, outspoken critics have repeatedly argued that Powell’s odds of success are low.
Back in September, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said that there was a 75% of a U.S. recession and warned that the Fed would struggle to bring inflation down from the four-decade highs seen in 2022.
