Interest rate jump - Abortions increase - Russia-China cooperation

Until this week the Fed had been expected to announce a smaller increase. The Fed chair, Jerome Powell, said the central bank decided that a larger hike was needed after recent economic news, including last week’s announcement that inflation had risen to a 40-year high.
...
Powell acknowledged that the Fed’s attempt to cool spending is likely to lead to job losses. The Fed expects unemployment to rise to 4.1% from the current rate of 3.6% as it attempts to bring inflation back down to its target rate of 2%. “We never seek to put people out of work,” Powell said. But, he added: “You really cannot have the kind of labor market we want without price stability.”
...
Nearly 70% of the academic economists now believe the US economy will tip into a recession next year. Many parts of the economy remain strong and the Fed is aiming for a “soft landing” – hoping it can tame inflation without sharply increasing unemployment – but some risks, including the war in Ukraine, are beyond the influence of the Fed.