The Fed only cares about inflation. That's bad news for you

New York (CNN Business) Jerome Powell and other members of the Federal Reserve are obsessed with choking off inflation once and for all, even if the Fed's series of aggressive rate hikes slow the economy to a crawl. That could be bad news for consumers, investors and Corporate America.

What's more, many market experts and economists note that the rate of inflation, while still uncomfortably high, is falling and should continue to decline -- but there is a noted lag effect. Fed vice chair Lael Brainard admitted as much in a speech Monday, saying that "policy actions to date will have their full effect on activity in coming quarters."

Still, the Fed isn't done raising rates. Investors are pricing in the strong probability of a fourth consecutive three-quarters of a percentage point hike at the Fed's next meeting on November 2. And the chances of a fifth straight hike of that magnitude at the Fed's December 14 meeting are also on the rise. year. So the Fed is going to keep raising rates to prove that it is taking inflation seriously, even if that leads to a bigger pullback in stocks...and tipping the economy into a recession.