of war. while asking them to pump more oil. he did the same with saudi arabia during a passionate digit, an attempt to oupd and cheaper than before russia invaded ukraine. number one, the fed s aggressive tight to tame decades high inflation. inflation in and the fed isn t finished. we continue to anticipate that ongoing increases will be appropriate. so many worry the high are ris will mcthe effects will
and boosting prices, weighed down by concerns. gas prices fell and end the year cheaper than before russia invaded ukraine. number one, the fed s aggressive fight to tame decades-high inflation. americans paid high prices this year. inflation soaring to a new 40-year high. across the board, you paying more for just about everything. reporter: the central bank jacked up interest rates seven times to help. even rolling out bumper three-quarter-point hikes four times in a row. and the fed isn t finished. we continue to anticipate the ongoing increases will be appropriate. reporter: some worry the fed s higher rates will spark a recession. they re shaking markets and raising credit and mortgage payments. but have they lowered consumer prices? there s no clear signal yet. one thing for sure, the effects will continue to work their way through the economy, into next year. a historic event in
and the fed isn t alone. that s more of the reaction we re seeing today. you have the european central bank and the bank of england that just joined the 50 basis points club. they did the exact same thing. so markets don t love it when rates keep increasing because that makes debt more expensive for companies. we cause them to stop expanding and hiring. the thing is we are seeing that inflation was getting a little bit better. earlier it seemed at that point the reaction to that market would be rallying, not what we re seeing now. i know. we go to the grocery store and avocado prices are coming down. but seriously, you had inflation that climbed in november. that s a lot. when you think about it compared to last year, that s a big increase year over year. however, it s starting to decelerate. so that maybe a sign for cheering, but that s not how markets reacted. because the big concern is that services are still climbing very high. so things like getting your car repaired orr airli
i think that s really not only the expectation but an explicit signal to central banks in particular. we heard from the fed. the economy and what that level is exactly isn t something can you say with any precision. but it s quite clear that it s a level that higher than where we currently are at. and so what that means is that rate hikes are here to stay and could very well extend into early next year. and most importantly, the fed isn t going to immediately turn around and reverse course. they re going to hold at those levels for an extended period of time. and colby, briefly, right now, what is the best assessment as to the likelihood of a recession? it s rising. i think after we saw some pretty substantive pretty substantive increase in