Federal Reserve gears up for change
6/18/202611 min
The Federal Reserve has dropped its bias towards lowering rates in the central bank’s first meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump said the US would release frozen Iranian funds, and UK inflation held unexpectedly steady last month. Plus, Chinese tech giant Huawei is making a huge comeback after being written off seven years ago.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Federal Reserve drops bias for rate cuts as Kevin Warsh era begins
Donald Trump to release Iran’s frozen funds and ease sanctions when ‘they behave’
Huawei’s big comeback tests limits of US chip controls
UK inflation unexpectedly holds steady at 2.8% in May
Five things to know about the high-stakes Makerfield by-election
CREDIT: C-SPAN
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The FT News Briefing is produced by Victoria Craig, Sonja Hutson, Saffeya Ahmed, Katya Kumkova, and Fiona Symon. Our editor is Marc Filippino. Our show is mixed by Kelly Garry and Alex Higgins. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello, Peter Barber and David da Silva. Our intern is Cole van Miltenburg. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Flo Phillips 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
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMark Filippino· Host0:00
[intro music] Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Thursday, June 18th, and this is your FT News Briefing. Huawei is in the middle of a major comeback, and US President Donald Trump says he'll unfreeze Iran's assets. But first, the Federal Reserve is in its Kevin Warsh era.
Kevin Warsh· Soundbite0:19
What we've given markets is, uh, a new chapter for the Central Bank, some fresh thinking.
Mark Filippino· Host0:24
I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day. [news theme playing] New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh held his first press conference yesterday.
Kevin Warsh· Soundbite0:40
It's an honor, a true honor to be back at the Federal Reserve and to take up this duty at a time of such consequence.
Mark Filippino· Host0:48
The Central Bank kept interest rates steady at three point five to three point seven five percent, as expected. The really big news is the changes that are coming to the Central Bank. Warsh said the Fed will be reviewing the way it communicates what it's thinking to investors and the general public. Claire Jones is our US economics editor and was at that press conference following the meeting. Hi, Claire.
Claire Jones1:09
Hi, Mark.
Mark Filippino· Host1:11
I wanna get into the changes that Warsh outlined in a second, but first, let's talk about how he and the rest of the Fed is thinking about inflation. The consumer price index rose by four point two percent in May. What do we know about how the Fed wants to handle that?
Claire Jones1:24
So coming into the meeting over the weekend, we've had this deal between the US and