Fed Raises Rates, Anticipates 3 Increases in 2017 | WSJ

From Harriet Torry at WSJ:

The Federal Reserve said it would raise its benchmark short-term interest rate for the first time in a year and expects to lift it faster than previously projected in the coming year.

Fed officials said they would nudge up the federal-funds rate by a quarter percentage point on Thursday, to between 0.50% and 0.75%, a move that could cause other household and business borrowing costs to rise as well.

They also indicated they see a brightening economic outlook and expect to raise short-term rates next year by another 0.75 percentage point–likely in three quarter-point moves.

I wouldn’t read too much into further rate rises at present. Rates will only be raised if the economy continues to grow. We are still in the “remove abnormally low rates” stage, which hopefully will take some froth out of the market. Monetary tightening by the Fed in response to rising inflation and wage pressures — which could hurt stock prices — still appears some way off.

Source: Fed Raises Rates for First Time in 2016, Anticipates 3 Increases in 2017 – WSJ