It was a Federal Open Marketing Committee (FOMC) week, so of course we cover the interest rate hike, inflation, and recession fears both in the U.S. and overseas, as well as an interesting array of other topics for your weekend reading pleasure.

Economics

• The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting occurred this week, and the decision was to raise the target interest rate another 75 basis points, the third consecutive rise of this size, and Powell signaled that more are to be expected. (AP)
• A second AP article explains how these rate increases impact the average person.
• Here is the weekly “will there/won’t there be a recession?” article—the discussion seems to be shifting to not “if” but when, how long, and how deep. (Calculated Risk)
• Europe looks like it is entering a recession. (Reuters)

Investing

• Here is an article that gives you some perspective on bear markets. (A Wealth of Common Sense)
• Gold hits its lowest point in two years, and the dollar rises as do yields. (MarketWatch)

Cryptocurrency

• A startup works to uncover identities in crypto transactions, helping the FBI and other government agencies recoup extortion payments. (BusinessWeek)

Taxes

• This Marketwatch article explains how inflation impacts tax bracket. It is very interesting and not something I ever thought too much about before.

Budgeting

• Have you heard of something called the “benefits cliff?” That is when someone receiving some form of benefit gets an increase in salary beyond some limit and loses all of that benefit. The St. Louis Fed tracked families crossing the income threshold for food stamps.  
• Median rent prices came down for the first time in almost a year. (Axios)
• A survey by Northwestern Mutual found non-mortgage debt has decreased 25% over the last three years among those who hold debt. (PRNewswire)

Career

• NPR examines who is likely to win the remote work war.

Behavioral Finance

• Does money buy happiness? Read about a new study on the subject in US News. Happiness may be more about the control one gets with more income than material things that could be bought.

About the Author

Beth Tallman

Beth Tallman entered the working world armed with an MBA in finance and thoroughly enjoyed her first career working in manufacturing and telecommunications, including a stint overseas. She took advantage of an involuntary separation to try teaching high school math, something she had always dreamed of doing. When fate stepped in once again, Beth jumped on the opportunity to combine her passion for numbers, money, and education to develop curriculum and teach personal finance at Oberlin College. Beth now spends her time writing on personal finance and financial education, conducts student workshops, and develops finance curricula and educational content. She is also the Treasurer of Ohio Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.