Interest Rates on Hold and Powell Speaks About Decision – The New York Times

Fed Meeting Live News: Interest Rates on Hold and Powell Speaks About Decision – The New York Times

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday while leaving the door open to a future increase, a cautious stance at a time when rapid inflation is retreating but is not yet vanquished.

Rates have been on hold in a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent since July, up from near-zero as recently as March 2022. Policymakers think that borrowing costs are now high enough to weigh on economic growth if they are kept at this level over time.

By cooling demand, the Fed is hoping to prod companies to raise prices less quickly. While the economy has held up so far — growth was unusually strong this summer — inflation has come down since 2022. Overall price increases decelerated to 3.4 percent as of September, down from above 7 percent at their peak.

Pond

There is a farm, or maybe better said, wildlife pond up at Bare Hill Unique Area high above Canandaigua Lake in this unique area that is largely free of trees due to the steep slopes and high elevations.

Taken on Monday November 12, 2012 at Bare Hill Unique Area.

Autumn is short, so is summer

Autumn fades so quickly. The leaves are green well into October most years and then they turn brilliant colors and then quickly fade away.

The season with leaves on the trees is really quite short when you think about it. In most of the higher elevations the leaves aren’t really on the trees until early May and they fade by mid October. The woods is free of leaves nearly eight months a year – and certainly seven most years in our cold climate.