The Federal Reserve, America’s central bank, raised its benchmark rate a half percentage point yesterday as assets that investors perceive as safer were among those to rally. While macro issues such as inflation and interest rates are certainly important, in the end it will be company performance relative to expectations that will be decisive.
Even if inflation may be peaking at levels last seen four decades ago, the key question is whether these levels are transitory or sticky and likely to come back to earth slower than many imagine.