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Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Thursday, September 21.

And this is your FT News Briefing. The Federal Reserve is getting more hawkish

and companies are issuing fewer share buybacks. Plus a look at how US President Joe Biden is

banking his legacy on economic policy. Which to my mind is probably simultaneously

one of the most important issues in American politics and one of the most important issues

facing the global economy. I'm Mark Filipino and here's the news you need to start your day.

The Federal Reserve hit the pause button on interest rate rises yesterday,

not a huge surprise there that Chair Jay Powell explained the reason for the pause at yesterday's

press conference. Given how far we have come, we are in a position to proceed carefully as we

assess the incoming data and the evolving outlook and risks. But Powell also suggested the

Fed wasn't done yet given that inflation is still too high. We're prepared to raise rates further

if appropriate and we intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we're confident

that inflation is moving down sustainably toward our objective.

The Fed's policy makers projected that the central bank will raise rates one more time before

the end of the year. They also projected fewer interest rate cuts in 2024 and 2025.

The S&P 500 fell about 1%, but it was the two-year US Treasury yield that caught the most attention.

It hit a 17-year high yesterday.

Corporate buybacks in the US are down, way down actually. Share buybacks slump to their

slowest pace since the early stages of the pandemic and analysts say that the trend is likely to

continue. Here to talk about both the risks and the rewards of this decline as the FT's Nicholas

...