Photo: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Pool via AP

The Federal Reserve is set for its most aggressive liftoff period in decades, and one that's very different from the last one, which began in 2015.

Chair Jerome Powell last week pointed to an economy in "a different situation" from the last interest-rate hiking cycle, highlighting a tighter labor market, the fastest inflation since the 1980s, and stronger economic growth.

The last time the central bank raised rates from zero, in 2015, the economy was emerging slowly from the global financial crisis and a long recession marked by weak households. This time, the Fed is playing catch-up amid decades-high inflation and a swift rebound in demand after the Covid-19 shock.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited Treasury & Risk content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
  • Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.