Daily Briefing: To raise or not to raise interest rates

Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY
·6 min read

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday is expected to release new projections for the economy, including interest rates. Also in the news: A magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Afghanistan sent panicked residents fleeing from their homes. Actor and wellness tycoon Gwyneth Paltrow is back in court Wednesday in a case involving a ski crash in Utah.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. No, this isn't the "The Last of Us." Yes, the CDC is warning against a drug-resistant fungus.

Here's Wednesday's news.

Will the Fed raise rates again amid the SVB crisis?

Will the Fed back up its inflation-fighting rhetoric and raise interest rates again despite the aftershocks of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse? Or will it prioritize financial stability during a period of uncertainty in the banking system?

LIVE UPDATES:: March Fed interest rate decision due Wednesday after SVB collapse

The Fed needs to decide whether to extend its year-long streak of rate hikes despite the jitters roiling the financial industry. The policymakers will also try to peer into the future and forecast the likely path of growth, employment, inflation and their own interest rates.

  • With financial industry stress easing somewhat in recent days, most economists and investors expect the central bank to lift its key short-term rate by a quarter percentage point.

  • Another rate increase would add to the Fed’s 4½ points of hikes the past year – the most in four decades. The flurry has sharply increased consumer borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards, and pummeled the stock market, while also lifting formerly meager rates for bank savings accounts.

  • Regulators have taken pains to emphasize the banking system is stable. “To pause would signal (the Fed) worries that might not be the case,” UBS says. And that could cause depositors at other regional banks to move money to larger banks, intensifying the crisis.

A pedestrian passes a Silicon Valley Bank branch in San Francisco.
A pedestrian passes a Silicon Valley Bank branch in San Francisco.

At least 11 killed as strong earthquake rattles Pakistan, Afghanistan

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake has rattled much of Pakistan and Afghanistan, sending panicked residents fleeing from their homes and offices. At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in northwest Pakistan from Tuesday's quake, which was centered in Afghanistan and also felt in bordering Tajikistan. "The quake was so strong and terrifying, we thought houses are collapsing on us, people were all shouting and were shocked,” said Shafiullah Azimi, a Kabul resident. Read more

  • What is Ramadan? What you need to know about the month-long holy observance for Muslim communities.

  • Biden released the nation's first Ocean Climate Action Plan.

Rescue workers unload earthquake victims from an ambulance at a hospital in Saidu Sharif, a town in Pakistan's Swat valley, Tuesday, March 21, 2023.
Rescue workers unload earthquake victims from an ambulance at a hospital in Saidu Sharif, a town in Pakistan's Swat valley, Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

More news to know now

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Secret Service met on security plan if Trump is charged

The Secret Service has participated in planning meetings with Manhattan court authorities, the New York Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to discuss security preparations in the event that charges are filed against former President Donald Trump, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told USA TODAY on Tuesday. The director's comments come as much of the nation anticipates a decision from the Manhattan district attorney on whether to take the unprecedented step of charging a former president. Read more

People gather outside a Manhattan courthouse on March 21, 2023 in New York City
People gather outside a Manhattan courthouse on March 21, 2023 in New York City

SCOTUS sides with student with disability

The Supreme Court sided unanimously with a student who is deaf and who sought to sue his school for damages over profound lapses in his education, a case that experts say could give parents of students with disabilities more leverage as they negotiate for the education of their children. Tuesday's decision may help parents and schools clarify one piece of a byzantine puzzle of laws that govern the nation's 7.2 million special education students. Experts have predicted it may give parents more leverage in their negotiation with schools. Read more

The case decided Tuesday, Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, involved the interplay between two federal laws the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The case decided Tuesday, Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, involved the interplay between two federal laws the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Just for subscribers:

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Gwyneth Paltrow in court for second day

Gwyneth Paltrow is expected to appear in court for the second day of a trial in which she's accused of crashing into a skier at Deer Valley Resort in Utah, leaving him concussed and with four broken ribs. The actor-turned-wellness executive has vehemently denied the charges and filed a counterclaim alleging 76-year-old Terry Sanderson, the man she collided with, was responsible for their 2016 crash. The trial's first day featured opening arguments and two witnesses testifying against Paltrow. The second day is expected to include testimony from two doctors called by Sanderson as expert witnesses about his medical condition. Read more

Actor Gwyneth Paltrow looks on before leaving the courtroom, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Park City, Utah.
Actor Gwyneth Paltrow looks on before leaving the courtroom, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Park City, Utah.

One more thing

Photo of the day: Heaps of trash pile up on Paris streets amid protests

Heaps of trash have been piling up on the streets of Paris and other French cities as garbage workers continue to strike, protesting President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular decision to raise the country's retirement age. Click here to see more photos from Paris and click here to read more about why people across France are protesting.

People walk and ride past uncollected garbage in Paris, Friday March 17, 2023, as sanitation workers are on strike.
People walk and ride past uncollected garbage in Paris, Friday March 17, 2023, as sanitation workers are on strike.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fed interest rate hike, Afghanistan earthquake, Trump indictment, Supreme Court, Gwyneth Paltrow: Daily Briefing

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