Econintersect: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – the board of directors of the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate. There was one dissenting vote. A summary of how the members viewed the economy:

…. business fixed investment appears to have firmed somewhat. Inflation has increased in recent quarters, moving close to the Committee’s 2 percent longer-run objective ….

Analyst Opinion of the FOMC Meeting Minutes

Not much can be added as this outcome was generally expected. The only surprise was the dissenting vote.

The Federal Funds rate was increased from 0.50 % to 0.75 % to 3/4 to 1 percent. Bloomberg / Econoday forecast was for a 0.25 % rate increase. [please click here to see the economic projections of the FOMC members]