History shows the heat will be on Fed Reserve post interest rise hike

Not all of the Fed's efforts to tighten monetary policy have worked the same way.

U.S. politicians know high inflation can bring careers in public office to an early end, but it is ultimately up to the unelected officials of the Federal Reserve to control what is considered first and foremost a "monetary phenomenon."

With inflation at a 40-year high, war in Europe threatening to push it higher, and consumers feeling the weight of higher gasoline and food prices and, for many, a cut in the purchasing power of their wages, the heat is once again on the Fed.

The U.S. central bank's main tool in managing inflation is the federal funds rate, an interest rate that