Federal Reserve raises interest rates to highest level since financial crisis

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised benchmark rates for the sixth time since the financial crisis, following the conclusion of its two-day meeting, the first under new Chairman Jerome Powell, CNBC reports.

The hike, of a quarter of a point, raised the Fed's key rate from 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent, its highest level in a decade. The Fed additionally signaled it would raise the rate two more times this year and three times in 2019. "The economic outlook has strengthened in recent months," the committee said in a statement.

Rate hikes "lead to higher rates for businesses looking to invest or consumers looking to buy cars or homes," writes The Washington Post, but they "also fight inflation and make the Fed better prepared for a future recession."