Multiple outlets including The Guardian reported the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 points to 3.75%-4%, the first such move since 2023. The Guardian incorrectly identified Kevin Warsh as the current Fed chair instead of Jerome Powell. Other details on inflation targeting and unanimous FOMC vote align across CBS News, ABC News, NY Post and additional sources.
The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to the 3.75% to 4% range according to The Guardian. Outlets including CBS News and the NY Post reported this as the first such increase since 2023.
The Guardian stated the move potentially sets Kevin Warsh the current Fed chair on a collision course with Donald Trump. The current chair is Jerome Powell.
ABC News noted the timing less than two months before the midterm elections.
How sharp is your money sense really? A 90 test financial intelligence assessment that scores what you actually know about money, from Timothy E. Parker.
Test Your Money IQ →The Guardian headline attributed the quote 'Inflation is too high and has been for too long' to Kevin Warsh. Source material instead shows Warsh stating the decision was sober and that policymakers removed a dose of accommodation after the quarter-point hike. The original reporting misstated the chairman's comments on the FOMC action.
On September 15-16, 2026 CNBC reported the Federal Open Market Committee meeting across two days with a rate decision expected at 2 p.m. ET on September 16 and a Chair Kevin Warsh press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET. CME FedWatch showed better than 90% probability of a quarter-point hike into a 3.75%-4.00% range, framed as the first hike in about three years, after month-ago odds near 36%. Coverage tied the swing to Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole remarks, oil prices, and inflation. The 10-year Treasury was hovering near 5% into decision week, including Wednesday morning. The CNBC Fed Survey said respondents see at least two hikes over the next year, with 86% expecting a hike ahead, and many saying inflation is broader than energy. Unfinished FOMC decision-day pricing and unfinished Warsh messaging are real. They are not already a locked multi-hike cycle forever, and they are not already a finished soft-landing forever.
On September 15, 2026 CNBC reported the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield broke above 5% Tuesday after briefly clearing 5% Monday, near 5.029% by about 5 a.m. ET after adding roughly 7 basis points, with the 20-year near 5.434% and the 30-year near 5.391%. Pre-market stocks sold off as yields rose in Japan, Germany, the UK, and France. Florian Spaete of Generali Investments told CNBC the break above 5% signals markets demanding higher term premium for persistent inflation, fiscal risks, heavy issuance, and rising capital demand, not only a temporary overshoot. Investopedia said futures pointed lower, the 10-year touched above 5.04% early Tuesday (highest since 2007 in some characterizations; recently about 5.02%), the FOMC two-day meeting was kicking off, and CME FedWatch showed about a 95% likelihood of a Wednesday rate rise. NPR Morning Edition's A Martinez spoke with Bloomberg Businessweek's Stacey Vanek Smith about Monday's brief 5% print and how the Fed might react. Unfinished 5% yield threshold and unfinished FOMC decision are real. They are not already mortgages permanently crushed forever, and they are not already a locked multi-year Fed hike path forever.