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Patrick Harker at Jackson Hole, Wyoming David A. Grogan | CNBC Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker on Thursday said higher interest rates have done little to keep inflation in check, so more increases will be needed. "We are going to keep raising rates for a while," the central bank official said in remarks for a speech in New Jersey. "Given our frankly disappointing lack of progress on curtailing inflation , I expect we will be well above 4% by the end of the year." The latter comment was in reference to the fed funds rate, which currently is targeted in a range between 3%-3.75%. Markets widely expect the Fed to approve a fourth consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate hike in early November, followed by another in December. The expectation is that the Federal Open Market Committee, of which Harker is a nonvoting member this year, will then take rates a bit higher in 2023 before settling in a range around 4.5%-4.75%. Harker indicated that...

Americans are about to see the biggest increase in their home heating bills in more than 10 years, and it's not just because of inflation. A new report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA), which represents the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), projects a 17.2% jump in average home heating costs this winter compared to last year, and a 42% jump in the cost of household electricity compared to the winter just before the pandemic hit. The latest increase is the result of sky-high summer temperatures that sent the price of natural gas soaring as some customers cranked up their air conditioners to cool their homes, according to NEADA executive director Mark Wolfe. That spike in demand pushed prices higher, and was exacerbated by the retirement of coal-fired and nuclear plants, in favor of electric generators. Meanwhile, natural gas production has been slow to come back online after waves of shutdowns during the Covi...