The Federal Reserve raises interest rates

Over the past year, consumer prices rose 7 percent, far above the 2 percent inflation rate the Federal Reserve aims for. At its latest meeting, the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise its target for short-term interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point. It was the committee's third increase that year.

Several members of Congress from both parties criticized the decision, saying that higher borrowing costs would hurt home buyers and small businesses just before an election year. One member introduced a bill to require the Federal Reserve to get approval from Congress before raising interest rates. The chair of the Federal Reserve responded that bringing inflation down would take patience and that the committee's decisions were based on economic data, not on the election calendar.