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The Federal Reserve is expected Wednesday afternoon to announce its largest interest rate hike since 1994 — a bigger increase than it had previously signaled and a sign that the central bank is struggling to restrain stubbornly high inflation.

The central bank is considered likely to raise its benchmark short-term rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, far larger than the typical quarter-point increase, to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%. It will also likely forecast additional large rate hikes through the end of the year.

A series of sizeable increases would heighten borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, likely leading to an economic slowdown and raising the risk of a recession. The Fed's previous rate hikes have already had the effect of raising mortgage rates roughly 2 percentage points since the year began and have slowed home sales.

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Macy’s Inc (M.N) said on Thursday it would lay off about 3,900 employees in corporate and management positions as U.S. businesses try to save cash in the face of dwindling demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Macy’s had in May warned of nearly $1 billion in operating losses in its first quarter and said it would turn into a “smaller company”.

The job cuts come at a time when unemployment figures in the United States are already high. Rising coronavirus infections in many U.S. states including California, Texas and Florida are likely to hurt employment further as some people stay away from consumer-facing establishments.

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U.S. retail sales endured a second straight month of record declines in April as the novel coronavirus pandemic kept Americans at home, putting the economy on track for its biggest contraction in the second quarter since the Great Depression.

The deepening economic slump was underscored by other data on Friday that showed production at industries collapsed last month at its deepest pace in 101 years. The reports, combined with a historic 20.5 million job losses in April, buttressed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s warning on Wednesday of an “extended period” of weak growth and stagnant incomes.

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Americans displaced by the coronavirus crisis filed unemployment claims in record numbers last week, with the Labor Department reporting Thursday a surge to 3.28 million.

The number shatters the Great Recession peak of 665,000 in March 2009 and the all-time mark of 695,000 in October 1982. The previous week, which reflected the period before the worst of the coronavirus hit, was 282,000, which was higher than expected at the time.

Consensus estimates from economists surveyed by Dow Jones showed an expectation for 1.5 million new claims, though individual forecasts on Wall Street had been anticipating a much higher number. The surge comes amid a crippling slowdown brought on by the coronavirus crisis.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6 percent on Wednesday under the 20,000 level, nearly erasing the iconic index's previous gains since President Donald Trump's inauguration and jeopardizing a key talking point for his reelection campaign.

Earlier in the day, the S&P 500 dropped so steeply that it triggered a market-wide suspension of trading for 15 minutes.

The plunge underscores the risk Trump took in tying his presidential reputation to stock prices, which can fall as easily as they rise, and in any case are only one indicator of the health of the economy.

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The Federal Reserve cut interest rates Tuesday in a rare emergency move, responding aggressively to the growing threat the coronavirus poses to the economy and financial markets.

The Fed lowered its key federal fund rates by half a percentage point to a range of 1% to 1.25%, the central bank said in a statement. It marked the Fed's first rate cut between scheduled meetings since the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.

Stocks swung wildly through the morning. After sliding earlier on the absence of a more forceful response from global central banks, the Dow was up more than 100 points after the Fed announced the rate cut. But then the blue-chip index reversed course and was down more than 200 points in midday trading.

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