Fed raises interest rates by a quarter point to fight inflation

The Federal Reserve Bank on Wednesday raised interest rates a quarter of a point again in an effort to cool inflation.

"The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. In support of these goals, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 5 to 5-1/4 percent," the Fed said in an announcement about the rate hike. The rate was 4-3/4 to 5 percent.

The decision puts interest rates at their highest in 16 years.

The Fed has aggressively raised interest rates over the past year in an effort to bring down historic inflation, but the collapse of three major U.S. banks over the past two months has caused concerns about how the rate hikes will affect banks.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.