Americans' credit card debt has hit a record high, the Federal Reserve of New York said in a report released this week. Credit card debt climbed $24 billion over a three-month stretch ending in September,

Traders of contracts that settle to the Federal Reserve's policy rate moved Wednesday to price in a firmer chance of another quarter-point interest-rate cut at the central bank's meeting next month, after a government report showed consumer inflation rose in October in line with economist expectations.

The consumer price index may not have shown another month of cooling inflation in October, but economists believe enough progress has been made for Federal Reserve officials to cut interest rates again in December.