29
Dec
The first two quarters of 2022 began with negative gross domestic product growth. It looked like we were headed for a recession. The Fed had to tame inflation that was spiraling out of control, so it raised the federal funds target rate from 0.25% in March to 4.5% now. Faced with these higher interest rates, rising debt levels around the world stemming from policies to weather the pandemic placed severe constraints on fiscal policy. In the US, federal debt held by the public was $24 trillion in the third quarter of 2022, which was 95% of GDP, up from 80%…
