The Federal Reserve’s 15 month, and counting, series of interest rate hikes looks to be proving successful thus far. Inflation is not yet back to its 2% goal, but it is decently lower than a year ago. Though many economists have been anticipating a recession to follow this deluge of interest rate hikes, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said this week that although it is still possible, he does not think it is “the most likely case.” The economy is sluggishly growing, consumer spending is solid, and unemployment is low. The soft landing the Fed was hoping for just might happen. Fears of an unstable banking industry still loom with three major banks failing in the past few months. Supply chain issues aren’t perfect but are improving and are expected to continue in this direction. Global tensions persist with the Russia-Ukraine war. Oil prices are at $68/barrel.