By Martin Baccardax “Inflation remains elevated, reflecting supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher energy prices, and broader price pressures,” the Fed said. The Federal Reserve made its largest rate hike in more than two decades Wednesday, while confirming plans to reduce its $9 trillion balance sheet, but added that follow-on moves would be ‘appropriate’ to the health of the broader economy. The Fed lifted its Fed Funds rate by 50 basis points, to a range of 0.75% to 1%, and said near-term rate moves would be “needed in order to combat the faster since the early 1980s. …