The Federal Reserve has opted to keep its feet on the economic brakes for now and kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday. What Happened In its first decision of 2022, the policy making Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) wrapped up its two-day meeting this afternoon by announcing it “decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent.” The decision was made by an unanimous vote. Yet the FOMC added that with “inflation well above 2 percent percent and a strong labor market, the Committee expects it will soon be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate.” Also, the FOMC stated that it would “continue to reduce the monthly pace of its net asset purchases, bringing them to an end in early March. Beginning in February, the Committee will increase its holdings of Treasury securities by at least $20 …