Federal Reserve officials, amid signs that the U.S. economy soon could shed its long period of stagnation, approved the first interest rate hike in a year Wednesday and said it foresees three more increases next year. Fed officials said they would nudge up the federal-funds rate by a quarter percentage point on Thursday, to between 0.50% and 0.75%, a move that could cause other household and business borrowing costs to rise as well. The Federal Open Market Committee cited “realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation” in increasing its benchmark rate a quarter percentage point, according to a statement Wednesday following a two-day meeting in Washington.