Oncast News · Washington

Fed Eyes Rate Hikes as Midterms Loom

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FBI Director Kash Patel are holding a press conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on the administration's fraud crackdown, joined by CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson.

CNBC reports tankers are continuing through the Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian attacks, driven by high freight rates.

CNBC reports Fed Presidents Alberto Musalem and Lorie Logan said the Fed may need to resume rate hikes.

CNBC reports Wall Street investors are preparing for possible Democratic gains in the 2026 midterm elections.

CNBC reports investigators are trying to recover $6.3 billion stolen from Binance, suspected to be North Korea-linked hackers.

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FBI Director Kash Patel are holding a press conference in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on the administration's fraud crackdown, joined by CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson.

WATCH LIVE: Sec Bessent, FBI Director Patel make an announcement on latest effort in fraud crackdown https://t.co/9Tn8SZcUrW

Original post · Fox News (@FoxNews)

fox9.com NAMES: Bessent = U.S. Treasury Secretary; Patel = FBI Director

VERIFIED TRUE

CNBC reports tankers are continuing through the Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian attacks, driven by high freight rates.

Tankers defy sharp escalation of Iranian attacks to keep crude oil flowing through Strait of Hormuz - Soaring freight rates are giving tankers a big financial incentive to run the gauntlet through the Strait of Hormuz.

Original post · CNBC

CNBC NAMES: Strait of Hormuz = key oil shipping chokepoint between Iran and Oman

VERIFIED TRUE

CNBC reports Fed Presidents Alberto Musalem and Lorie Logan said the Fed may need to resume rate hikes.

Fed officials are already saying they’ll need to get back to hiking rates - The comments from Federal Reserve Presidents Alberto Musalem and Lorie Logan offer the first morsels of insight into what leaders at the Fed see happening next.

Original post · CNBC

CNBC NAMES: Fed = Federal Reserve; Musalem and Logan = regional Fed presidents

VERIFIED TRUE

CNBC reports Wall Street investors are preparing for possible Democratic gains in the 2026 midterm elections.

Wall Street braces for Democratic gains as 2026 midterm election nears - Investors are preparing for a blue wave in the midterm election on Tuesday that will determine who controls Congress for the remainder of President Trump's term.

Original post · CNBC

CNBC NAMES: None

VERIFIED TRUE

CNBC reports investigators are trying to recover $6.3 billion stolen from Binance, suspected to be North Korea-linked hackers.

Binance hack: Investigators in a 'cat and mouse game' to recover $6.3 billion in stolen funds - More than $6 billion in crypto was stolen from Binance, setting off a race to recover the funds before North Korea-linked hackers can launder them into cash.

Original post · CNBC

CNBC NAMES: Binance = cryptocurrency exchange

Sources

What the hosts said

BWall Street is already pricing in a blue wave, and the Fed is talking about hiking rates again. Two stories, same fear: inflation.
BWait, the Fed wants to hike? I thought the whole point was they were done.
BCNBC says two Fed presidents, Musalem and Logan, are already floating it. They see the midterms, they see spending, and they're getting nervous.
BSo the market's bracing for Democrats to win, and the Fed's bracing for whatever comes next. That's a fun combination.
BNothing says stability like a rate hike right before an election.
BBut here's the thing—if Wall Street is already pricing in Democratic gains, that's not a prediction, that's a hedge. They're not betting on a blue wave, they're buying insurance against it.
BAnd the Fed? They're not waiting for the election. They're looking at the deficit, the tariffs, the oil shock. They're saying, we might have to tighten again.
BWhich is exactly what a fragile economy doesn't need. You hike rates now, you choke off the recovery.
BOr you let inflation run hot and everyone's paycheck evaporates. Pick your poison.
BI'd rather have a job and slightly higher prices than no job and stable prices.
BThat's a false choice and you know it. The Fed's job is to keep prices stable. If they lose that, we get 2022 all over again.
B2022 was a supply shock. This is a demand problem. Different disease, different cure.
BTell that to the bond market. They're already pricing in higher rates. The Fed's just following.
BOkay, but here's what I don't get. If the Fed is worried about inflation, why is Wall Street worried about Democrats? Democrats aren't exactly the party of tax cuts.
BBecause a Democratic Congress means gridlock, and gridlock means no spending cuts, no entitlement reform, just more borrowing. The market hates uncertainty.
BSo the market's afraid of both outcomes. That's not a market, that's a panic attack.
BWelcome to October 2026.
BSpeaking of panic, CNBC also has this: tankers are still running the Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian attacks, because the freight rates are so high they can't afford not to.
BThat's the most honest thing I've heard all day. Money beats fear, every time.
BThe strait moves a fifth of the world's oil. If it closes, oil goes to... I don't even want to say the number.
BSo the tankers are playing chicken with Iranian missiles, and the crews are getting hazard pay. Literally.
BAnd the Fed's watching that too. Oil shock plus rate hike equals recession. That's the math.
BUnless the strait stays open and the tankers keep getting through. Then it's just expensive, not catastrophic.
BMeanwhile, Axios reports that Ro Khanna is endorsing primary challengers to three fellow California Democrats.
BWait, a sitting Democrat is trying to primary his own colleagues? That's a knife fight in the family.
BAxios says he's backing challengers to three House Democrats. We couldn't independently confirm the endorsements, but if true, that's a big deal.
BKhanna's been positioning himself as the anti-establishment progressive. This is him saying, the party's not moving fast enough.
BOr it's him settling scores. California politics is brutal, and Khanna's got a long memory.
BEither way, it's a sign the Democratic civil war isn't over. It's just moved to the primaries.
BAnd on the other side, Fox News is live right now: Treasury Secretary Bessent and FBI Director Patel are making an announcement on the fraud crackdown.
BBessent and Patel together? That's the money guy and the badge guy. They're not just talking about fraud, they're talking about prosecutions.
BThey're in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with CMS Administrator Oz and FTC Chair Ferguson. This is a full-court press.
BThe administration's been hammering fraud in Medicare, in COVID relief, in crypto. This looks like a victory lap.
BOr a warning shot. If you're defrauding the government, they're coming for you.
BAnd speaking of crypto fraud, CNBC says investigators are in a cat-and-mouse game to recover six point three billion dollars stolen from Binance.
BSix point three billion. That's not a hack, that's a heist.
BAnd they think it's North Korea-linked. The same playbook they've used for years: steal crypto, launder it, fund the regime.
BThe scary part is, once it's in the blockchain, it's not gone. It's just... moving. And the investigators are chasing it in real time.
BIt's a race. Every hour, the money gets split into smaller pieces, mixed, moved through exchanges. The trail goes cold fast.
BAnd if they can't recover it, that's six billion dollars that could end up funding North Korea's weapons programs, if that link holds. That's the real cost.
BSo while the Fed's worried about inflation and the tankers are dodging missiles, a major crypto theft is unfolding in real time.
BAnd the midterms are four days away. Nothing like a little chaos to make you feel alive.
BAlive, or just awake at three a.m. checking your phone.
BSame thing these days.

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