Fed raises interest rates by half a percent

The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates by half a percentage point to reduce inflation, The Wall Street Journal reports. The decision came after a two-day policy meeting wrapped up on Wednesday, and unlike the previous quarter-percentage-point increases, officials announced the central bank's benchmark federal funds rate will rise to a range of 0.75 percent and 1 percent, to combat the highest inflation in 40 years. The rate increase is the "sharpest since 2000 and the second of seven hike...