The Federal Reserve is striking a more hawkish tone one week after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time since 2018. If the economic data support a half-percentage-point increase to interest rates, New York Fed Bank President John Williams would endorse the hike. But Williams refrained from talking too much about the next two-day FOMC policy meeting in May, noting that it is only March. Still, he believes that the central bank needs to lift the benchmark fed funds rate to more “normal” levels. Ultimately, Williams noted, the pace of rate hikes will depend on the economic data. “If it’s appropriate to raise interest rates by 50 basis points at a meeting, then I would think we should do that. If it’s appropriate to do 25, we should do that. I don’t see any reason not to do one or …