Federal Reserve: Let them eat higher rates

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The Fed hikes rates amid banking sector uncertainty; the UN calls for Haiti gang violence intervention.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

The Fed hikes rates despite banking chaos

 Alex Wong/Getty Images

• The Federal Reserve on Wednesday hiked interest rates by 0.25 percentage points in a further effort to curb inflation, amid recent bank instability. [Vox / Li Zhou]
• The decision shows the central bank is prioritizing bringing down consumer prices, which rose in January after months of decline. The Fed’s rate now stands between 4.75 and 5 percent. [The Hill / Tobias Burns]
• Some in the financial sector worry higher interest rates will further damage an already shaky banking sector, but Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said emergency actions have stabilized banks. [CNBC]
• Pausing the rate hikes may have led to higher inflation and spooked investors, signaling that problems remain in the banking system. [USA Today / Paul Davidson and Elisabeth Buchwald]
• With inflation projected to persist through December, Fed officials could hike interest rates another quarter of a percentage point at least one more time this year. [Washington Post/ Rachel Siegel]

📍 Go deeper

Vox’s Emily Stewart explains how the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes may have contributed to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. [Vox / Emily Stewart]

Haiti gang violence worsens

• The United Nations is calling for special international forces to intervene in Haiti’s intensifying gang violence. [Guardian / Tom Phillips]
• At least 531 people have been killed, 300 wounded, and 277 kidnapped in gang-related activity this year. Haiti’s political and economic crises escalated after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. [CBS News]
• US and Canadian sanctions on Haitian elites suspected of financing the gangs have only worsened the violence and kidnappings. [Miami Herald / Jacqueline Charles]
• President Joe Biden is expected to ask Canada to lead a mission to help the Haitian police restore stability. However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unlikely to accept due to a history of failed foreign interventions. [Washington Post / Amanda Coletta and Widlore Mérancourt]

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a trademark dispute between whiskey maker Jack Daniel's and a dog toy manufacturer. [Vox / Ian Millhiser]

• UK inflation surged to 10.4 percent in February amid high food and energy costs. [CNBC/ Elliot Smith] 
• Uganda’s parliament passed legislation imposing life in prison or the death penalty for people who identify as LGBTQ. [BBC / Patience Atuhaire]
• Google on Tuesday released its AI chatbot Bard, which is equipped with tools similar to Microsoft’s BingGPT. [Vox / Shirin Ghaffary]

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“There’s a high degree of uncertainty to the extent that there are things lurking in the darkness that haven’t revealed themselves yet."

[Stony Brook economist Stephanie Kelton on possible fallout from the interest rate hike to the banking sector / Vox]

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