Federal Reserve Lifts Interest Rates For First Time Since 2006

The Federal Reserve voted unanimously on Wednesday to raise interest rates by a quarter point, marking the first increase in more than nine years. The bank raised its fed funds rate to a range of 0.25% to 0.5%, ending an unprecedented seven-year run of near-zero interest rates. The vote was 10-0. The board of directors also raised the discount rate to 1% from 0.75%. Looking ahead, the Fed said it will "carefully'monitor" actual inflation in light of 'current shortfall." And given current economic conditions, the bank said interest rates are only likely to increase in a "gradual" manner, ending up at a long-run target of 3.5%. That was unchanged from its September forecast.