Good morning from the Financial Times.
Today is Thursday, March 20, and this is your FT news briefing.
The Federal Reserve is still in wait and see mode and tech companies are going public despite a tough market.
Plus,
the International Olympic Committee is voting for a new president today and that might mean big changes for the Games.
There are a lot of questions about whether or not the Olympics business model has really been keeping up with the Times.
I'm Mark Filippino and here's the news.
You need to start your day.
The Fed chose to leave interest rates untouched yesterday and Chair Jay Powell said the central bank,
quote, need not be in a hurry to shift rates because because of elevated uncertainty.
You see,
the Fed also cut its economic growth forecast for the year and it says
that its progress on lowering inflation has stalled for now.
Powell said that US President Donald Trump's policies have affected the central bank's outlook,
but it's unclear how much of the inflation pressures are because of tariffs.
Even with higher inflation expectations,
Fed officials broadly think the central bank will implement one or two quarter point interest rate cuts by the end of the year.
But a few members think there will actually be no cuts in 2025.
Despite all the market turmoil in the US a handful of tech startups are still expected to publicly list next month.
It's creating some cautious optimism for what some see as a window of opportunity to get the IPO market out of its slump.