Rising hopes of a soft landing for the US economy likely hinge on the Federal Reserve’s willingness to tolerate inflation markedly higher than it would prefer. After taking a break from tightening credit last month, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues look locked in to raising interest rates by a quarter percentage point this week. The aim: To slow the economy enough to reduce inflation to its 2% target over time, without crashing the US into a recession — a proverbial soft landing. The big question facing policymakers and financial markets is what comes next. Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke said that this ... (full story)