President Donald Trump announced Friday that he plans to nominate former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to return to the central bank’s board and succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, a move likely to ignite a bruising Senate confirmation battle and intensify concerns over political pressure on …
Read More »Powell Says Justice Department Threatened Indictment in Subpoena Targeting Fed Chair
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Sunday that the Justice Department subpoenaed the central bank late last week and threatened a criminal indictment, escalating what he described as a sustained pressure campaign by the Trump administration to influence monetary policy. Powell said the subpoena, issued Friday, relates to his June …
Read More »Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates as Labor Market Weakens
The Federal Reserve delivered its first interest rate cut of the year on Wednesday, signaling that mounting concerns about a slowing labor market now outweigh the risks of rising inflation. Policymakers reduced the central bank’s benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point, setting it at 4% to 4.25%. The move …
Read More »Fed Holds Rates Steady Amid Trump Pressure, Rising Inflation
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday opted to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged, defying persistent pressure from President Donald Trump and signaling renewed concern about inflation and economic uncertainty driven by tariffs. In a statement following its July policy meeting, the Fed said that while economic growth had moderated, inflation …
Read More »Trump Visits Fed, Criticizes Renovation Costs But Backs Off Firing Powell
In a rare presidential visit to the Federal Reserve on Thursday, President Donald Trump publicly criticized the cost of the central bank’s ongoing renovations, calling the estimated $3.1 billion price tag “exorbitant” while donning a hard hat amid ongoing construction. The event highlighted Trump’s continued pressure on Fed Chair Jerome …
Read More »Trump Walks Back Threat to Fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell
President Donald Trump said Wednesday it was “highly unlikely” he would fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, appearing to reverse course less than a day after floating the idea with Republican lawmakers and sparking a temporary dip in the stock market. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said, …
Read More »Fed Cuts Interest Rates in First Move Since 2019, Signaling Relief for Borrowers
Jimmy Williams The Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, marking the first rate cut in over four years and lowering the key rate by 0.5%, to a range of 4.75% to 5%. This move follows a series of 11 rate hikes since March 2022 aimed at curbing …
Read More »Sen. Warren Demands Probe Into Bank Failures, Urges Biden to Fire Powell
Kenny Stancil Sen. Elizabeth Warren this weekend called on federal officials to investigate the causes of recent bank failures and urged President Joe Biden to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom she has criticized for intensifying financial deregulation and imposing job- and wage-destroying interest rate hikes. Asked on Sunday …
Read More »Fed Raises Interest Rates Again, Signals More Coming Despite Pressure To Slow The Pace
Casey Quinlan, Florida Phoenix The Federal Reserve has announced that in its continuing efforts to tamp down inflation, it would raise interest rates yet again by another three-quarters of a point to a target range of 3.75 to 4%. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a press conference following …
Read More »June Jobs Report Suggests Fed Could Avoid A Recession – But Room For Error Is Minuscule
Christopher Decker, University of Nebraska Omaha The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in June, signaling the labor market remains strong even as the Federal Reserve tries to weaken it to tame inflation. The July 8, 2022, jobs report also showed the unemployment rate remained at a 70-year low …
Read More »Senate Confirms Jerome Powell For Another Four Years As Fed Chair
The United States Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jerome Powell as the chair of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System until 2026. In an 80–19 landslide vote on the Senate floor on Thursday, U.S. lawmakers confirmed Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, a position he …
Read More »Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates By A Half Point To Fight Inflation
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a percentage point on Wednesday — the biggest increase to short-term borrowing costs in more than two decades — and alerted consumers that more hikes of this size are yet to come, marking the U.S. central bank’s most aggressive moves yet to …
Read More »Fed Raises Interest Rates for First Time Since 2018
The Federal Reserve announced that it is raising interest rates for the first time in three years to help bring the skyrocketing inflation under control. “With appropriate firming in the stance of monetary policy, the Committee expects inflation to return to its 2 percent objective and the labor market to remain …
Read More »Federal Reserve Rolls Out New Trading Restrictions For Senior Officials
The Federal Reserve has barred senior officials from a number of investment activities, particularly those involving individual stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies and commodities. The Federal Open Markets Committee announced the new rules on February 18. They specifically bar covered officials: “[F]rom purchasing individual stocks or sector funds; holding investments in individual …
Read More »Fed Officials Signal March Rate Hike as Inflation Surges to Almost 40-Year High
U.S. Federal Reserve officials signaled last week that the central bank could start raising interest rates in March as U.S. annual inflation surged to an almost 40-year high in December. “Inflation is too high, and working people around the country are concerned about how far their paychecks will go,” Fed …
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