Fed's Hawkish Minutes Ignite Rate Hike Debate as Bond Yields Surge to 19-Year High

The Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes released Wednesday revealed a central bank deeply divided, with many officials now openly discussing the need for a rate hike if inflation doesn't cool soon. The committee voted 9-3 to hold rates steady at 3.5%-3.75%, but the dissenters—regional presidents Beth Hammack, Lorie Logan, and Neel Kashkari—argued for a quarter-point increase to "forestall the need for a steeper and potentially more costly sequence of tightening moves...