An article in the Wall Street Journal discussing the Federal Reserve's monetary policy included the following observation:
"Fed officials have been signaling since last year that they expected to raise rates in 2015 ... pushing up the value of the currency and contributing to the economic slowdown officials now confront."
a. What does "pushing up the value of the currency" mean?
b. Why would the Fed's increasing U.S. interest rates cause the value of the currency to increase?
c. Why would an increase in the value of the currency contribute to a slowdown in the growth of the U.S. economy?