Fed to unveil another big rate hike as signs of economic slowdown grow

The Federal Reserve is expected to hike its key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday to battle high inflation. Focus will shift to how deeply signs of an economic slowdown have registered with its policymakers. The anticipated increase in the target federal funds rate will bring the U.S. central bank to a mile marker of sorts as it reaches a level of around 2.4% that is estimated to no longer encourage economic activity. The issue now is whether the Fed is at risk of overdoing it and going too far could trigger a recession. A number of Fed officials at various points since the start of the year have said they thought inflation had peaked, only to be caught out as prices continued to rise faster. By the the Fed’s preferred inflation is three times the central bank’s 2% annual target . . .