seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large.

Largest one ever seized, actually.

And other things are happening.

So you'll be seeing that later, and you'll be talking about that later with some other people.

Yeah, it's an escalation, obviously.

We've seen these attacks on the boats.

They're supposedly drug-drawning boats.

We've seen an increase in U.S. forces in the area.

We've seen the president talk about the possibility of using force in Venezuela.

This seizing of an oil tanker is, you know, one more step down that road.

It's a sanctioned tanker, we're told. There are examples where the United States has seized

sanctioned oil tankers in the past and other circumstances. But in the context of this

particular moment, given the chest beating and the, you know, the war drums being banged in terms of Venezuela,

it raises the question of what's coming next.

Good afternoon. My colleagues and I remain squarely focused on achieving our dual mandate

goals of maximum employment and stable prices for the benefit of the American people.

Although important federal government data for the past couple of months have yet to be released,

available public and private sector data suggests that the outlook for employment and inflation has not changed as much since our meeting in October.

Conditions in the labor market appear to be gradually cooling,

and inflation remains somewhat elevated.

In support of our goals, in light of the balance of risks to employment and inflation,

today the Federal Open Market Committee decided to lower our policy interest rate by a quarter percentage point.

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