Author

John W. Diamond

John W. Diamond

Director, Center for Tax and Budget Policy at the Baker Institute, Rice University

News Analysis

US consumers and businesses are now facing a future of more expensive borrowing

BY: - September 18, 2026

From mortgages to auto loans to credit cards, borrowing is set to get even pricier. But the Federal Reserve’s decision on Sept. 16, 2026, to hike its baseline interest rate also highlighted an increasingly confounding dilemma: It can raise the price of money across the economy, but it can’t determine which sectors are most affected. […]