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76 76 INVESTMENT GOVERNMENT PROPERTY PRESERVATION FED RAISES NOMINAL INTEREST RATE BY 0.75% ree-quarters of a point. is is the amount the Federal Reserve chose to raise the nominal interest rate by citing the need to combat the highest rate of inflation since the 80s. To put that another way, this is the largest rate hike seen since the November 15, 1994, meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) when rates were upped to 5.5%. Currently, the nominal interest rate now stands at 1.50-1.75%, a 75-basis point increase from the previous rate of 0.75-1.00%. As the pandemic took hold of the country in March 2020, the FOMC held two emergency meetings within two weeks of each other to cut the interest rate from 1.5-1.75% to 0.00-0.25%. is increase marks the third of the year, the first two rate hikes were 0.25% and 0.50%, respectively. e committee made this change seeking to achieve a maximum employment and inflation rate of 2% over the long run. ey anticipate that ongoing increases will be necessary to keep these numbers in the target range. "Overall economic activity appears to have picked up after edging down in the first quarter," the committee said in a joint statement. "Job gains have been robust in recent months, and the unemployment rate has remained low. Inflation remains elevated, reflecting supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher energy prices, and broader price pressures." "e invasion of Ukraine by Russia is causing tremendous human and economic hardship. e invasion and related events are creating additional upward pressure on inflation and are weighing on global economic activity. In addition, COVID-19-related lockdowns in China are likely to exacerbate supply chain disruptions. e Committee is highly attentive to inflation risks." e committee also stated that their policy goals may change as other market influences and risks present themselves over the coming weeks. In a press conference after the announcement, Chairman Jerome Powell said that future increases of 0.25%-0.50% should be expected but said he does not believe that an increase of this magnitude is likely in the future based on current data. Voting for the monetary policy action were Journal