Federal Reserve holds steady as inflation fears mount

<p>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.</p><br><p><strong>Mentioned in this podcast:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/dc961982-e7f6-413c-8c44-65ccfc483486?accessToken=zwAAAZ2dXSYSkdPclhmC5_ZBPNOMRGXM_Eg0hgE.MEYCIQDK4o9KYg2uQJ1JdRcP82vXVheGcbayPs1f1CtT8S5IeQIhANRcPjJ9_4SZO6Lrug7AsX3mdNRy71BL7RzGeFe6FIBQ&amp;segmentId=7d4bcc2e-e664-92ba-62e3-5590579f1902" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Federal Reserve chief Jay Powell says Iran oil crisis will worsen US inflation</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3c19968f-c28e-405e-ab79-06669ef9fdfd?accessToken=zwAAAZ2c1IYAkc88GZaPwo5AXtOreQZmnvn9_QE.MEUCIFyhj69v_9SH6S-3yyzr_hxHOAOa1NHZjEE6e5F6NQGGAiEAyDUMljiXXkS7iHcv9BKi6hsUc9yGBh-PsZG8uk5z8v4&amp;segmentId=7d4bcc2e-e664-92ba-62e3-5590579f1902" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pakistan and Afghanistan pause hostilities …