The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday for the first time since 2023 in a bid to tamp down inflation. The Globe's Andrew Galbraith and Mark Rendell write that the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee decided unanimously to raise its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 3.75 to 4 per cent. In a statement, it said the move would support a "timelier return" to the Fed's 2-per-cent inflation target. Cost pressures have been exacerbated by Mr. Trump's war against Iran, which has driven up gas and diesel prices. Mr. Trump criticized the move to raise rates, but stopped short of admonishing Mr. Warsh -- unlike his frequent jabs at previous Fed chair Jerome Powell. "Interest Rates in the United States should be 1%, or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World -- BY FAR," he wrote in a social-media post. "The culmination of [Fed] comments today tells us this is a baby toe stepping into a hiking cycle," RBC chief economist Frances Donald told The Globe. S&P Global Ratings maintains a AA+ long-term sovereign credit rating for the United States, one notch below Canada's top-tier AAA rating.