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By Kristin Myers, Editor-in-Chief

What's Happening Today

Get ready, because it's going to be a busy week. Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve will kick off its two-day policy meeting. The central bank will decide exactly how aggressive it wants to be in fighting inflation—a decision that will affect interest rates on loans and bank accounts, but could also impact the chances of a recession.

After the annual rate of inflation rose higher than expected to 9.1% in June, the Fed has been increasingly under pressure to address rising prices that have been hitting all of our wallets. But just how aggressive does it plan to get this week?

Currently, markets suggest that the Fed will raise interest rates by another 75 basis points like it did in June, in its most aggressive rate hike since 1994. However, the more that the central bank raises rates, the more it could slow down economic growth. And that increases the possibility of a situation everyone is dreading: a recession.

While no one wants a recession, it's getting harder to afford the rising costs of goods. And so, the Fed will have to continue to walk this tightrope, slowing down the economy enough to bring inflation down, but not so much as to bring economic doom and gloom from a recession. Higher interest rates are also not ideal for those of us seeking a loan like a mortgage, or for those who have credit card debt.

Also in focus will be another busy week of corporate earnings season. So far, earnings have been better than expected for roughly two-thirds of the country's biggest companies on the S&P 500 that have already reported, according to financial data provider FactSet. Stocks are falling today ahead of more earnings and the Fed's decision.

- Kristin

Editors' Picks

'I'm Always Worrying': How to Cope With Financial Stress (The New York Times)

I'm Retired and My Accounts Are Losing Money. What Do I Do? (The Balance)

The 60/40 Strategy Will Make a Comeback, Morgan Stanley Says (Bloomberg)

How Much You Should Be Saving for Retirement (The Balance)

Should You Invest During a Recession? (The Balance)

Bye Bye, San Francisco: The Top 7 U.S. Cities Homebuyers are Seeking to Leave (CNBC)

The Upper Middle Class Is Getting Squeezed (The Wall Street Journal)

Term of the Day

Rule of 72

The Rule of 72 is a rule of thumb that investors can use to estimate how long it will take an investment to double, assuming a fixed annual rate of return and no additional contributions.

If you want to dive even deeper, you can use the Rule of 115 to determine how long it will take to triple your investment.

Both of these rules of thumb can help investors understand the power of compound interest. The higher the rate of return, the shorter the amount of time it will take to double or triple an investment.

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Off the Charts

When interest rates rise, so do bank CD rates. And the longer you're willing to have your money tied up, the higher your rate will be. If you check around, you'll likely find that rates increase as the length of time increases (for example, an 18-month CD will pay more than a six-month CD). This is because the longer you commit to leaving your money on deposit, the more flexibility the bank has to use your money.