The Daily Money: Brace yourself for another Fed rate hike; advice for Mega Millions winners
Good morning and happy Wednesday, Daily Money readers. It's Jayme Deerwester back with you.
A few hours from now, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce it's raising interest rates by another three-quarters of a point – or 75 basis points. If this sounds like déjà vu, it's because it did the same thing in June after consumer inflation accelerated to 9.1%. Some economists believe a full point raise isn't out of the question given that inflation jumped in nearly every category.
Wednesday's anticipated rate hike may not be the end of it, either: The Fed’s generally expected to increase rates at every meeting for the rest of this year to get inflation closer to its 2% target.
The good news is that future hikes may get smaller. ING chief international economist James Knightley expects only 50-basis-point increases in September and November with a final quarter point in December.
Although the Fed doesn’t directly control consumer interest rates, its rate increases ripple through the economy and ultimately, hit businesses and consumers and slow demand and inflation.
“It means your debt is going to get a lot more expensive in a hurry,” says Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at Lending Tree.
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What not to do if you win the lottery
The $810 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot ballooned to $1.02 billion after no one matched all six numbers Tuesday night and won the top prize.
If someone wins this time around, experts say they should avoid shouting it from the rooftops, lest they make themselves a target for scammers.
“Some of those scammers have falsely identified themselves as being affiliated with Mega Millions,” Mega Millions said. “These scams all have one thing in common: They try to trick you into sending them money or personal information by claiming that you have won a large lottery prize.”
No representative of Mega Millions would ever call, text, or e-mail anyone about winning a prize, Mega Millions said. Also remember, "no real lottery tells winners to put up their own money in order to collect a prize they have already won," it said.
“If you’re lucky enough to win the lottery, keep it quiet," warns Rob Burnette, financial and investment advisor at Outlook Financial Center in Troy, Ohio. "Get organized and make a plan. Consider staying anonymous, if it’s a possibility.”
🎧 Mood music 🎧
Camper Van Beethoven – the same band that gave us "Take the Skinheads Bowling" – doesn't necessarily have positive things to say about the lottery. But they do know what they'd do with the money if they won:
"When I win the lottery, I'm gonna donate half my money to the city so they have to name a street or a school or a park after me."
About The Daily Money
Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from Paste BN. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you. It even comes with its own Spotify playlist. It features nearly every song quoted here.
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