Catching you up on today's top business headlines with the Fed meeting potentially leading to a 0.75 percent rate hike amid persistent inflation, business leaders feeling less optimism about the economy compared to six months ago, and the Producer Price Index rising along with fuel.

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In Business: Rate Hike Anticipation, CEO Pessimism, Producer Prices Also Rise

Well the Fed kicking off a two day meeting today ahead of announcing its latest policy decision tomorrow. And the U. S. Central bank are largely expected to raise rates by another half of a percentage point. Well it could go as high as three quarters of a person. As persistent inflation rattles, markets companies and consumers alike. Many americans do feel it pinching their wallets, but the latest reads on inflation showing that it's still sky high, adding more pressure on the Fed to raise rates in order to combat sustain the higher prices. Fed of course needs to move that inflation target to 2% in line with its long term goal for price stability and thus healthy economy. But we've got a ways to go because the latest inflation read showing consumer prices were up 8.6% in May from the same time a year ago. And speaking of high prices. Chief executives here in the us much less optimistic about the economy now than they were six months ago when one survey found that it reached an all time high. Well the business roundtable quarterly survey of top business leaders finding that while executives plan to hire and invest, they have a much dimmer outlook on the economy now compared to even March when the survey was last conducted. So chair mary Barra and GM Ceo noted that the cloudy sentiment reflects quote uncertainty driven by the unprecedented times that we face and quote. Certainly mary Barra at her company of GM has been rattled by supply chain challenges inflation. You name it. Many of these challenges stemming from the coronavirus and only worsened by Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Well, as another sign of those times, wholesale prices rising at a new record pace. Yet another signal that inflation not slowing down and questions as to whether or not it's actually peaked, The producer price index rising 10.8% from the same time a year ago in May, And producer prices rose .8%. That's twice the measure from April Well, P. P. I. Measuring the change in prices for goods and services from the perspective of companies, what they are paying for their goods and services and goods prices. Driving up the PP. I, accounting for almost two thirds of the measurement, most of those gains coming from soaring fuel prices, for example, jet blue Jet fuel rising 12% in May after rising nearly 15% in April. And the price changes often trickle down to consumers. If suppliers are paying more, they will raise prices for customers.