• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

1

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
FinanceFederal Reserve

The Fed Just Raised Interest Rates. 3 Ways That Will Impact You

By
Annalyn Kurtz
Annalyn Kurtz
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Annalyn Kurtz
Annalyn Kurtz
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 15, 2017, 2:08 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The Federal Reserve took one more step toward removing the stimulative policies that still linger from the aftermath of the financial crisis. The U.S. central bank, though, is not quite there yet.

On Wednesday, the Fed raised its key short-term interest rate to a range of 0.75% to 1%. That’s the highest that rate would be since 2008, and it’s the first time the Fed raised its rate this year.

The move hardly comes as a surprise after Fed officials including Chair Janet Yellen foreshadowed a rate hike in speeches starting about two weeks ago. Since then, strong economic data particularly on the job market, had only further boosted expectations of a rate hike.

What investors, economists, and borrowers, however, have been waiting to find out is the Fed’s updated economic projections, which also came out on Wednesday. Those projections were pretty much in line with what the Fed had said the last time it increased its projections, which was in December. That suggests Fed officials opinion of how much Trump can boost the economy has not changed since the President took office.

(Fortune.com: Watch Live: Janet Yellen Announces Federal Reserve Decision on Interest Rates)

Here’s what the rate hike means for the average American.

Better job, higher pay? First, the Fed would only be raising rates if it was confident the economy would continue to improve. That’s good news for Main Street even as interest rates rise, because continued growth hopefully comes along with more jobs and eventually, rising wages as well. The Fed, in its statement, said it expects “labor market conditions will strengthen somewhat further.”

With the unemployment rate at 4.7% in February, the job market is already considered near “full employment” by several Fed officials. Meanwhile, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation shows prices are up 1.9% over the 12 months ending in January, inching closer to the central bank’s goal of 2% inflation per year.

What’s more, wages are already rising slowly. According to last week’s jobs report, average hourly earnings rose 2.8% over last year.

So why doesn’t it feel like you’ve gotten a raise yet? A separate report released early Wednesday morning, shows that after adjusting for inflation, average wages were flat in February.

Mortgage rates will rise: Looking to buy a house? You might want to act sooner rather than later.

As the Fed actively tried to boost the housing market following the crisis, the rate on a 30-year fix mortgage fell its all-time low in November 2012, at just 3.31%. But as the Fed raises its key interest rate, the cost of a home loan is moving higher as well.

As of last week, the average interest on a 30-year mortgage was 4.21%, and in the next two weeks, it could rise to 4.5%, forecasts Matthew Pointon, a property economist for Capital Economics.

By the end of 2018, look for mortgage rates as high as 5.5%, he wrote in a recent note to clients.

Meanwhile, home prices are expected to rise 4.6% in 2017, according to a Zillow survey of economists.

This means new homebuyers could be hit by a double whammy of higher home prices AND higher borrowing rates.

“When you combine higher mortgage rates with increasing home values, mortgage affordability starts to suffer, and buyers will have to spend more and more on their monthly payments,” Zillow Chief Economist Svenja Gudell noted in a recent press release.

Your probably won’t earn more on your savings account: Following the last two Fed rate hikes, major banks were lightning fast at raising rates that borrowers pay on loans.

But don’t expect the banks to suddenly pay higher interest on your savings account.

Savings rates have barely budged over the last year. In fact, the average rate on money market account was just 0.11% last week. That’s exactly the same as a year ago, according to Bankrate.com. Meanwhile, the average rate on a 1-year CD is 0.33%, only slightly up from 0.28% a year ago.

If you want higher rates, look to smaller players like fintech startups, online banks, community banks, or credit unions, which may raise their rates faster following a Fed rate hike as they attempt to attract more deposits away from the major banks.

“If you want to find better yields on savings accounts and CDs in this environment where the Fed is raising rates—you have to go to find it. You can’t expect it to land in your lap,” Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com, told Fortune last week.

Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter examining what leaders need to succeed. Sign up here.

About the Author
By Annalyn Kurtz
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

Trump’s 927-page disclosure is just a normal Tuesday for direct indexing and crypto wealth managers
InvestingDonald Trump
Trump’s 927-page disclosure is just a normal Tuesday for direct indexing and crypto wealth managers
By Catherina GioinoJuly 1, 2026
3 hours ago
US President Donald Trump sits in silence with his hands folded on top of each other.
CryptoDonald Trump
Inside Trump’s $1.4 billion crypto empire: Altcoins, Bitcoin—and a stake in Michael Saylor’s Strategy
By Camila Grigera NaónJuly 1, 2026
4 hours ago
Mark Zandi, Moody's chief economist.
EconomyU.S. economy
‘It’s fair to ask whether it was worth it’: The Iran war has cost Americans $1,000 per household—and that’s a conservative estimate, Mark Zandi says
By Tristan BoveJuly 1, 2026
7 hours ago
Melania Trump NFT earnings surge 28x in 2025 as first lady rakes in nearly $17 million in total earnings, filing shows
PoliticsDonald Trump
Melania Trump NFT earnings surge 28x in 2025 as first lady rakes in nearly $17 million in total earnings, filing shows
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 1, 2026
7 hours ago
Donald Trump sits at his desk in the Oval Office, smiling and with his hands folded in front of him.
PoliticsDonald Trump
Trump got a $78K pension from the Screen Actors Guild in 2025 because he appeared in Home Alone 2 in 1992
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 1, 2026
8 hours ago
Current price of Bitcoin for July 1, 2026
Personal FinanceCryptocurrency
Current price of Bitcoin for July 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 1, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
Big Tech
As Big Tech showers employees with perks to win the talent war, Nvidia built a nearly $5 trillion company by making people pay for their own lunch
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 1, 2026
18 hours ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
7 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
5 days ago
The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win
Newsletters
The Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling hands the U.S. economy a $7.7 trillion win
By Diane BradyJuly 1, 2026
16 hours ago
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Success
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 1, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 1, 2026
12 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.