The cost of borrowing money is about to go up.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell yesterday said he would propose a quarter-percentage point rate increase when the central bank meets in two weeks. The newspaper said the hike comes amidst record economic demand, high inflation and a constricted job market.
The Wall Street Journal further reported that Powell and his colleagues “have an expectation that inflation will peak and begin to come down this year.”
“To the extent inflation comes in higher or is more persistently high than that, then we would be prepared to move more aggressively” by raising rates by a half-percentage point at one or more meetings later this year, Powell said.
The news comes amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which sent markets seesawing and oil prices soaring, yesterday touching nearly $114 a barrel for Brent crude, according to The New York Times. The newspaper also said that OPEC yesterday declined to implement measures to cool the oil market.
Despite the headwinds, manufacturers, boatbuilders and other marine industry players seem optimistic.
Viking Yacht Co. and Valhalla Boatworks reported robust sales at two events in February. Scout Boats said it had a 13 percent year-over-year increase in total retail sales at the recent Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show. And acquisitions haven’t cooled, as OneWater announced yesterday that it will acquire Denison Yachting and Dometic purchased CDI Electronics and Balmar.
