The US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by a quarter of one per cent overnight. That’s not a shock… Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell had all but promised the hike. The rate rise has one thing in mind: curbing inflation. We’re talking a lot about the increasing cost of living here in Oz, and our inflation rate is 3.5%. In America, it’s running at a 40-year high of 7.9%… So the Fed (which is what the cool kids call it…) has a serious juggling act on its hands – to apply the economic breaks a bit (which will reduce inflation) while not strangling the nation’s economic recovery post COVID (which would happen if interest rates are too high because people won’t borrow and spend/invest). It’s a challenge for central bankers across the world – including here in Oz. It’s just that when you’re at the centre of the biggest economy in the world and your actions have global implications, you want to get it right. No pressure, Jay…