US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference at the end of Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Washington, DC, on December 13, 2023. The Reserve voted Wednesday to hold interest rates at a 22-year high for the third straight meeting and signaled it expects to make three cuts next year. The Fed's decided to keep its benchmark lending rate between 5.25 percent and 5.50 percent. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)