Fed to fight inflation with fastest rate hikes in decades

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is poised this week to accelerate its most drastic steps in three decades to attack inflation by making it costlier to borrow — for a car, a home, a business deal, a credit card purchase — all of which will compound Americans’ financial strains and likely weaken the economy. Yet with inflation having surged to a 40-year high, the Fed has come under pressure to act aggressively to slow spending and curb the price spikes that are bedeviling households and companies. After the central bank’s latest rate-setting meeting ends Wednesday, the Fed is set to announce that it’s raising its benchmark short-term interest rate by a half-percentage point — the sharpest rate hike since 2000.