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The US central bank has imposed its fourth major interest rate rise in a row.

The Federal Reserve, the central bank known as the Fed, has once again hiked rates by 0.75 percentage points in an effort to curb soaring inflation.

The widely-expected rise will mean more expensive borrowing for the likes of mortgage holders and those paying credit card debt.

American interest rates now stand at 3.75% to 4% up from 3% to 3.25% since the last increase in September.

The latest tough stance has been taken in an effort to limit spiralling inflation, which stood at more than 8.2% in the US in the 12 months up to September. The rises are being made as part of an overall plan to reduce inflation to 2%.

There is to be no let up in pursuing that target as the committee that decides US interest rates said it anticipated “ongoing increases” in rates will be appropriate “for some time”.

The Fed has taken on responsibility for inflation, speaking at the announcement, chair of the Fed, Jay Powell said price stability is the responsibility of his organisation and the bedrock of the economy. “Without price stability, the economy does not work for anyone,” he said.

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Just how high those rates reach remains to be seen. Mr Powell added there’s “significant uncertainty” around the level of rate rises but it’s expected rates will be higher than previously expected.

What will determine how much interest rates rise are readings on public health, labour market conditions, inflation, and financial and international developments.

The longer the current high rate of inflation continues, the greater the chance that expectations of inflation will become entrenched, Mr Powell added.

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Now is not the time to be considering when interest rises may moderate, he said, ongoing rate hikes are needed to get to a level that is “sufficiently restrictive”.

The impact of those rate rises are already having a negative effect on the economy, economists have said.

“A Fed-induced recession is still a very real – and dangerous – possibility,” said Rakeen Mabud, chief economist and managing director of policy and research at the Groundwork Collaborative.

“The slowdown in the housing market is the canary in the coal mine – a warning of the real price we will all pay if Chair Powell continues on his interest rate bender.”

If rates continue to rise a recession worse than that experienced after the global financial crisis could result, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) had warned.

The rate had been 0% at the beginning of this year but the Fed has progressively increased the figure across five announcements. The low rate was reached during the pandemic when the Fed wanted borrowing to be cheap for businesses and consumers to remain financially afloat.

US economy bounces back from recession territory even as storm continues to brew

Not since the early 1980s has the Fed embarked on such an aggressive monetary-tightening campaign with Mr Powell on Wednesday describing the rises are increasing at a “historically fast pace”.

Prior to Wednesday’s increase, the Fed had already upped rates in September, June and July by what were, at the time, rises not seen since 1994.

The Fed is just one of many central banks targeting interest rates as inflationary pressures drive the cost of living crises across economies.

On Thursday, the Bank of England is anticipated to also raise its base rate of interest by 0.75% to 3%.

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Anti-Trump protests sweep America for the second time in weeks

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Anti-Trump protests sweep America for the second time in weeks

Anti-Trump protests took place across America on Saturday, with demonstrators decrying the administration’s immigration crackdown and mass firings at government agencies. 

Events ranged from small local marches to a rally in front of the White House and a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of the start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago.

Thomas Bassford, 80, was at the battle reenactment with his two grandsons, as well as his partner and daughter.

He said: “This is a very perilous time in America for liberty. I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”

At events across the country, people carried banners with slogans including “Trump fascist regime must go now!”, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” and “Fight fiercely, Harvard, fight,” referencing the university’s recent refusal to hand over much of its control to the government.

Some signs name-checked Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian citizen living in Maryland, who the Justice Department admits was mistakenly deported to his home country.

Read more: Donald Trump’s deportations explained

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

People waved US flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress. In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelt out “Impeach & Remove” on a beach, also with an inverted US flag.

People walked through downtown Anchorage in Alaska with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!”

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP


Protests also took place outside Tesla car dealerships against the role Elon Musk ahas played in downsizing the federal government as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide demonstrations.

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Organisers are opposing what they call Mr Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shuttering entire agencies.

The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.

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Day 91: Q&A – deportations, dollar bills and MAGA hats

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Day 91: Q&A - deportations, dollar bills and MAGA hats

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On Day 91, our US correspondents James Matthews and David Blevins tackle listeners’ questions.

Is Trump’s El Salvador deportation plan good business? Could President Trump put his face on a dollar bill? And are MAGA hats made in China?

If you’ve got a question you’d like the TRUMP100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

Don’t forget, you can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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JD Vance has ‘quick and private’ meeting with the Pope during visit to Rome

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JD Vance has 'quick and private' meeting with the Pope during visit to Rome

US vice president JD Vance has met with Pope Francis.

The “quick and private” meeting took place at the Pope’s residence, Casa Santa Marta, in Vatican City, sources told Sky News.

The meeting came amid tensions between the Vatican and the Trump administration over the US president’s crackdown on migrants and cuts to international aid.

No further details have been released on the meeting between the vice president and the Pope, who has been recovering following weeks in hospital with double pneumonia.

Mr Vance, who is in Rome with his family, also met with the Vatican’s number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

The Vatican said there had been “an exchange of opinions” over international conflicts, migrants and prisoners.

According to a statement, the two sides had “cordial talks” and the Vatican expressed satisfaction with the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting freedom of religion and conscience.

“There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners,” the statement said.

Francis has previously called the Trump administration’s deportation plans a “disgrace”.

Read more from Sky News:
US VP meets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Trump: Putin not playing me – but I might give up on peace talks

Mr Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, has cited medieval-era Catholic teaching to justify the immigration crackdown.

The pope rebutted the theological concept Mr Vance used to defend the crackdown in an unusual open letter to the US
Catholic bishops about the Trump administration in February, and called Mr Trump’s plan a “major crisis” for the US.

“What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and
will end badly,” the Pope said in the letter.

Mr Vance has acknowledged Francis’s criticism but said he would continue to defend his views. During an appearance in late February at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, he did not address the issue specifically but called himself a “baby Catholic” and acknowledged there were “things about the faith that I don’t know”.

While he had criticised Francis on social media in the past, recently he has posted prayers for the pontiff’s recovery.

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