"The US president and his administration have come under fire for their attacks against the Fed's chair, Jerome Powell, who is now facing a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice over alleged abuse of taxpayer dollars linked to renovations to the central bank's headquarters in Washington. Powell has suggested the allegations are baseless and merely a punishment for not cutting interest rates as fast as Trump would like."
"Central bankers and chief executives have since started rallying around the Fed, raising concerns about political interference in monetary policy. However, Trump defended his campaign against Powell on Tuesday, saying: I think it's fine what I'm doing. And we have a bad Fed person. When asked about the comments by Dimon, who warned against chipping away at the Fed's independence, Trump said: I think he's wrong. We should have lower [interest] rates. Jamie Dimon probably wants higher rates, maybe he makes more money that way."
"It came hours after Dimon told reporters that he had enormous respect for Powell, adding: Everyone we know believes in Fed independence. And anything [that] chips away at that is probably not a great idea, and in my view, will have the reverse consequences. It'll raise inflation expectations and probably increase [interest] rates over time. The chief executive of the Bank of New York Mellon, Robin Vince, also warned that there would be consequences to threatening the Fed's independence."
President Trump publicly criticized JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon and defended his campaign against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell while pressing for lower interest rates. Jerome Powell is under a Department of Justice criminal investigation over alleged misuse of taxpayer funds tied to renovations to the Fed headquarters, and Powell has called the allegations baseless and political retaliation. Central bankers and chief executives rallied around the Fed, warning that political interference could raise inflation expectations and interest rates. Trump said he will announce a Powell replacement in the coming weeks. Bank executives warned of consequences for threatening Fed independence.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]