Fed to announce future of interest rates Wednesday
WASHINGTON – The worst-kept secret in the financial world is that the Federal Reserve is all but sure Wednesday to raise interest rates from record lows by a modest quarter point.
On that, pretty much everyone agrees. The uncertainty hinges on what the Fed will say about how much and how fast it expects to raise rates again in coming months. A relatively aggressive pace would contribute to higher borrowing rates and risks slowing the economy. It could also roil financial markets.
It isn’t the message investors want to hear. They’d prefer for the Fed to signal that it foresees a slow and gradual series of rate hikes, one that would allow it to periodically assess whether the economy was sturdy enough to withstand higher rates.
The Fed has kept its benchmark short-term rate near zero since setting it there in 2008 to help save the financial system in the depths of the financial crisis. Now, with the job market all but fully healthy, the central bank is ready to begin lifting rates toward normal levels.
Egypt’s take on Russian jet crash conflicts with others
CAIRO – Egypt said Monday it has not yet found any sign of terrorism in the deadly Oct. 31 crash of a Russian passenger jet in the Sinai desert, a preliminary finding that conflicts with Russian, U.S. and British statements that they believed a bomb on the aircraft probably was to blame.
The vaguely worded Egyptian statement reflected the deep reluctance among government authorities to point to the possibility of a bomb, and the implication of lax security at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport, where the Metrojet plane took off.
Several officials involved in Egypt’s investigation told The Associated Press that security gaps at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport were making finding a culprit more difficult, including poor video surveillance and the number of people who could enter the facility with only limited searches.
Soon after the crash, the U.S. and Britain said the plane probably was brought down by a bomb, in part citing chatter among militants in Sinai. On Nov. 17, Moscow also announced a bomb was to blame, saying its tests had founds traces of TNT on luggage, personal effects and fragments of the plane. In response, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said only that his country would “bear in mind” the Russian conclusion.
Woman charged for failed coat hanger self-abortion
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.– Anna Yocca was 24 weeks pregnant when police say she filled a bathtub with water, untwisted the wire of a coat hanger and plunged it into her womb in an attempt at “self abortion.”
Blood poured out of her, staining the bathwater red. Yocca panicked. Afraid for her safety, she called her boyfriend and he took her to the hospital. Later she was transferred to a larger facility in Nashville, Tenn., where she delivered a 1.5 pound baby boy.
The infant faces a life attached to an oxygen tank, The Murfreesboro Post reported, because of the early birth and damage to his lungs, eyes and heart caused by the coat hanger. His mother is facing an indictment for first-degree attempted murder.
Yocca, 31, was arrested last week, three months after her alleged abortion attempt, the Associated Press reported. She is being held on a $200,000 bond.
Associated Press & Washington Post
