Task 1News Item 1The United States central bank, the Federal Reserve, has raised interest rates for the third time this year. The Federal Reserve raised the overnight bank lending rate by 0.25 percent (one fourth of one percent) to 5.5 percent. It raised the discount rate also by 0.25 percent to 5 percent. The Federal Reserve said it had no plans to raise interest rates again any time soon. It said the increase today should reduce the danger of inflation. News Item 2The Commerce
