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The Federal Reserve is raising its key interest rate by 0.25%, continuing on its crusade against inflation while warning that recent instability in the banking sector could weigh on the economy. In announcing their ninth consecutive rate hike — which increases the benchmark federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5% — Fed officials said in a statement Wednesday that the “U.S. banking system is sound and resilient.” But after a series of historic collapses and rescues of lenders in the U.S. and overseas, they warned that “recent developments are likely to result in tighter credit conditions for households and businesses and to weigh on economic activity, hiring, and inflation.” That means potentially higher borrowing costs for home and car loans to steeper credit card interest rates. “The extent of these effects is uncertain,” the statement continued, sounding a note of caution over the likelihood of further rate hikes as the Fed looks to get inflation back down to its 2% target. Aft...

Like other kids her age, 9-year-old Victoria signed up for Pinterest because she wasn’t allowed on TikTok. Her mother feared she might encounter dangerous content or individuals on the popular video-sharing app. Pinterest, meanwhile, seemed safe.  But while the third grader was “pinning” pictures of baby animals, craft ideas and nail art inspiration into her image “boards” on the site, grown men were pinning her.  Clips Victoria uploaded of herself to Pinterest, such as one in which she cheerfully turns a cartwheel, have been compiled by at least 50 users into their own boards with titles like “young girls,” as well as “Sexy little girls,” “hot,” “delicious,” and “guilty pleasures.” Those boards are filled with dozens, hundreds and sometimes thousands of photos and videos of children. “I’m shocked and disgusted,” said Victoria’s mother, Nathalia, the one person the girl followed on the platform. “I thought Pinterest was a place to be creative and inspired.” Nathalia asked that both she...

A statue is pictured next to the logo of Germany's Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, September 30, 2016. Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuter Deutsche Bank on Thursday reported its 10th straight quarter of profit, receiving a boost from higher interest rates and favorable market conditions. Deutsche Bank reported a 1.8 billion euro ($1.98 billion) net profit attributable to shareholders for the fourth quarter, bringing its annual net income for 2022 to 5 billion euros, a 159% increase from the previous year. The German lender almost doubled a consensus estimate among analysts polled by Reuters of 910.93 million euro net profit for the fourth quarter , and exceeded a projection of 4.29 billion euros on the year. In 2019, Deutsche Bank launched a sweeping restructuring plan to reduce costs and improve profitability, which involved exiting its global equities sales and trading operations, scaling back its investment banking and slashing around 18,000 jobs by the end of 2022. The annual resu...

watch now VIDEO 3:08 03:08 Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 50 basis points Power Lunch The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raise d its benchmark interest rate to the highest level in 15 years , indicating that the fight against inflation is not over yet despite some promising signs lately. Keeping with expectations, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee voted to boost the overnight borrowing rate half a percentage point, taking it to a targeted range between 4.25% and 4.5%. The increase broke a string of four straight three-quarter point hikes, the most aggressive policy moves since the early 1980s. related investing news The worst of inflation is likely over, but the worst for the economy probably isn't Jeff Cox a day ago Along with the increase came an indication that officials expect to keep rates higher through next year, with no reductions until 2024. The expected "terminal rate," or point where officials expect to end the rate hikes, was put at 5.1...

watch now VIDEO 2:39 02:39 The economy is slowing and is heading toward a recession, says PIMCO co-founder Bill Gross Halftime Report Famed investor Bill Gross said he expects big trouble ahead should the Federal Reserve keep hiking interest rates . "The economy has been bolstered by tremendous amounts of trillions of dollars in fiscal spending, but ultimately when that is used up, I think we've got a mild recession, and if interest rates keep going up, we've got more than that," Gross said Tuesday on CNBC's "Halftime Report." "We've got potential chaos in financial markets," Gross said. A tightening of monetary policy would further roil the capital market s, according to Gross. The so-called bond king and co-founder of Pimco pointed to Tuesday's move in global bond yields following the Bank of Japan's decision to widen the yield on its 10-year Japanese government bond. Meanwhile, a rise in interest rates spells trouble ahead ...

The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C. Sarah Silbiger | Reuters Markets are nearly certain the Federal Reserve next month will take another step down in the pace of its interest rate increases. Pricing Wednesday morning point ed to a 94.3% probability of a 0.25 percentage point hike at the central bank's two-day meeting that concludes Feb. 1, according to CME Group data. If that holds, it would take the Fed's benchmark borrowing rate to a targeted range of 4.5%-4.75%. related investing news JPMorgan says take profits on this rally as it will start to fade in the first quarter Jesse Pound a day ago While the probability is little changed since late last week, economic data Wednesday helped solidify the idea that after a succession of aggressive hikes — four consecutive three-quarter point hikes in 2022, at one point — the Fed is ready to take its foot off the brake a bit more. The producer price index fell 0.5% in December while retail sales...

The Starling Bank app displayed on a person's phone. Adrian Dennis | AFP via Getty Images LONDON — Online banks in the U.K. are racing to bump up the yields on their savings accounts in a bid to lure cash-strapped savers after the Bank of England increased its benchmark interest rate for a ninth time in a year. After the new rate rise was announced Thursday, Starling Bank and Chase U.K., the U.K. challenger brand from American banking giant JPMorgan , took steps to capitalize on the move. Chase U.K. said it would increase the variable AER, or annual equivalent rate, on its saver account to 2.7% from 2.1% effective Jan. 4, 2023. On Thursday, Starling rolled out its first savings product, a fixed-term deposit account offering a guaranteed return of 3.25% after one year on balances of between £2,000 ($2,439) to £1 million. "We've re-entered the era where banks use better savings rates to acquire customers," Simon Taylor, head of strategy at fintech startup Sardine.ai...

The Swiss National Bank hikes interest rates again. FABRICE COFFRINI / Contributor / Getty Images The Swiss National Bank increased its benchmark interest rate Thursday for the third time this year, taking it to 1%. The central bank said it was looking to counter "increased inflationary pressure and a further spread of inflation" with the move. related investing news Bond king Gundlach says the Fed should not do more rate hikes after the latest increase Yun Li 11 hours ago Inflation in the country remains well above the Swiss National Bank's target of 0-2%, but is noticeably below the soaring rates of neighboring European countries. Switzerland's inflation rate remained steady at 3% last month, having dropped from a three-decade high of 3.5% in August. The central bank's 50 basis point hike Thursday came after it unexpectedly raised its policy interest rate for the first time in 15 years in June, taking it from -0.75% to -0.25%. It then entered positive terri...

Consumers are racking up credit card debt at a pace not seen in decades as inflation continues to pervade the U.S. economy. In the most recent quarter, which ended in September, consumers’ overall credit card balances increased by 15% — the largest year-on-year increase the New York Federal Reserve has measured in more than 20 years. In aggregate, balances are nearing $1 trillion, not adjusted for inflation, for the first time ever. And while analysts say many U.S. consumers remain in good financial shape thanks mostly to low unemployment, the debt situation is growing dire. As the Federal Reserve has continued to lift interest rates to counter sky-high inflation, credit card rates have climbed to the highest levels ever measured. According to Bankrate, the average annual rate for credit cards is 19.2%, the highest since it began measuring the data in 1985. Bankrate data shows it would take 16 years for someone to pay off the current average credit card balance of $5,474 by making ...

watch now VIDEO 5:58 05:58 Fed nearing a slowdown in the pace of rate increases, says Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester Closing Bell Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said Monday inflation will need to show more signs of progress before she's ready to stop advocating for interest rate increases. While acknowledging that recent data has been encouraging, the central bank official told CNBC that the progress is only a start. "We're going to have more work to do, because we need to see inflation really on a sustainable downward path back to 2%," she said in a live "Closing Bell" interview with Sara Eisen. "We've had some good news on the inflation front, but we need to see more good news and sustained good news to make sure that we are returning to price stability as soon as we can." Markets widely expect the Fed in December to approve its seventh rate hike of the year, but this time slowing down to a 0.5 percentage p...

Despite sky-high interest rates, Americans are charging record amounts to their credit cards as the holiday shopping season heats up, risking hefty fees and credit score fallout that personal finance experts say can be mitigated with a little planning. Inflation, which was running at 7.7% in October, shows some signs of slowing but still hovers around historic highs. And while 37% of American households say their finances are worse now than last year, 74% plan on spending at least as much this holiday season — about $1,455 per consumer — according to a survey by consulting firm Deloitte. But respondents estimated that same budget would cover only about nine gifts this year, down from 16 last year. Consumers are “going to find ways to combat the challenges they find,” says Rod Sides, global leader at Deloitte Insights. For example, households may cut back on holiday decorations at home to leave more budget for gifts. Some retailers have said consumers are holiday-shopping earlier than u...