Labor Costs Jump by Most in 2 Decades, Adding to Inflationary Surge

The Fed is widely expected to raise the benchmark U.S. interest rates by 50 basis points (0.5 percentage point) at its May meeting next week. In a panel hosted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that “it may be that the actual [inflation] peak was in March, but we don’t know that, so we’re not going to count on it.” He added that it might be appropriate to “move a little more quickly” in tightening monetary policy to keep inflationary pressures in check.