Fed raises interest rates Finally!

America's first interest rate hike in nearly a decade is here.

The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate on Wednesday from a range of 0% to 0.25% to a range of 0.25% to 0.5%.

The rate hike is a small one, but it will affect millions of Americans, including investors, home buyers and savers. Savers should eventually see a little more interest on their deposits at the bank, but big banks didn't make any increases Wednesday. Mortgage rates will gradually rise. The move was widely expected. It is a sign of how much the economy has healed since the Great Recession.

The central bank believes the U.S. economy is strong now and no longer needs crutches and that the move "marks the end of an extraordinary period" of low rates designed to boost the recovery from the Great Recession. "I feel confident about the fundamentals driving the U.S. economy, the health of U.S. households, and domestic spending," Fed chief Janet Yellen said during a press conference. "There are pressures on some sectors of the economy, particularly manufacturing, and the energy sector...but the underlying health of the U.S. economy I consider to be quite sound." Known as "liftoff," the Fed's action is expected to be the first of more rate increases that will probably come in 2016. The last rate hike was June 2006. Source: RosaPace@realtor.com