Last week's economic reports included the post-meeting statement by the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee along with readings on retail sales and inflation. Weekly reports on mortgage rates and new jobless claims were also released. Fed Raises Key Interest Rate on Strong Economic Indicators The post-meeting announcement by the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve indicated that committee members voted to raise the target federal funds rate to 0.175 to 2.00 percent from the prior rate of 1.50 to 1.75 percent. The post-meeting announcement cited strong economic conditions and stated that FOMC had altered their outlook from three…