The Federal Reserve policymakers raised the range for the Fed funds rate by a quarter percentage point (0 percent to 0.25 percent and from 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent) during the meeting held on December 16th. It is the first hike since June 2006 when Ben Bernanke increased the rate from 5 to 5.25 percent marking the beginning of the end for era of easy monetary policy. Interest Rate in the United