The Fed takes a hike

It’s a good bet that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its meeting this Wednesday

Janet Yellen, chair of the Federal Reserve: market-watchers keenly await any hints from Yellen on what’s coming down the tracks PIc: Bloomberg

Eight years ago, the US was riding a wave of hope on the back of Barack Obama’s historic presidential election win.

Just weeks after Obama’s win, as the strains of “Yes we can” could still be heard, the US faced another watershed moment. That December, the US Federal Reserve announced that it was slashing interest rates to record lows, setting a target range for the federal funds rate of 0 to 0.25 per ...