U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen testifies during a hearing before Senate Finance ... [+] Committee at Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill June 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. Yellen reiterated that combating inflation is President Joe Biden’s number-one priority, and that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said his goal is to bring down inflation while maintaining a strong labor market. Yellen said Powell’s goal will take “skill and luck,” but she doesn’t think a recession will necessarily follow. ContraA Wall Street Journal survey of economists released Sunday put the probability of a recession in the next year at 44%, an unusually high figure. Key BackgroundThe Federal Open Markets Committee announced Wednesday it will raise the federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage points—the largest interest rate hike since 1994—as it battles inflation.

Source: Forbes June 19, 2022 17:55 UTC