Federal Reserve holds steady as inflation fears mount

美联储按兵不动,通胀忧虑加剧

FT News Briefing

2026-03-19

11 分钟

单集简介 ...

The US has relaxed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil group Petróleos de Venezuela and the Federal Reserve has stuck with plans to cut rates later this year. Plus, Walmart won patents to give algorithms more sway over prices and fears of an immediate escalation in the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan have eased. Mentioned in this podcast: Federal Reserve chief Jay Powell says Iran oil crisis will worsen US inflation Pakistan and Afghanistan pause hostilities after Kabul hospital attack Walmart wins patents to give algorithms more sway over prices US relaxes sanctions on Venezuela’s PDVSA amid global energy squeeze Send us your tariff story: marc.filippino@ft.com Credit: Federal Reserve Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts  Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted by Sonja Hutson, and produced by Fiona Symon and Victoria Craig. Our show was mixed by Kelly Garry. Additional help from David da Silva. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  • Markets move fast.

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  • Good morning from the Financial Times.

  • Today is Thursday, March 19th, and this is your FT News Briefing.

  • Venezuelan oil now has an easier path to the global market.

  • And the Fed is staying the course.

  • Plus, the fallout between Pakistan and the Taliban is having deadly consequences.

  • We saw a particularly deadly episode in Monday that showing

  • that civilians are not being spared from this kind of violence.

  • I'm Sonia Hudson, and here's the news you need to start your day.

  • The U.S. relaxed sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil group yesterday.

  • PDVSA will now be allowed to sell oil directly to U.S. companies and on the global market.

  • But payments must be sent to U.S.-controlled accounts.

  • The move comes as the Trump administration wants to open up Venezuela's oil sector.

  • The U.S. abducted and arrested socialist leader Nicolas Maduro back in January.

  • The administration is also looking to alleviate some of the crunch

  • on the global oil market that was caused by the Iran war.

  • But experts have warned it could take years to revitalize Venezuela's oil sector.