Federal Reserve

[Smit]

Of all the crazy, stupid shit going on with this administration I'm surprised it took this long but this is some scary stuff. Replacing Powell with one of his loyalist sycophants who aren't qualified could be a fucking disaster.

Trump says Federal Reserve Chair Powell's 'termination cannot come fast enough'

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump slammed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday, reiterating his frustration that the Fed has not aggressively cut interest rates and saying that the central bank leader's "termination cannot come fast enough."

Trump hinted at moving to fire Powell, whose term does not expire until next year. The Republican president's broadside comes a day after Powell signaled that the Fed will keep its key interest rate unchanged while it seeks "greater clarity" on the impact of policy changes in areas such as immigration, taxation, regulation and tariffs.

Powell's comments contributed to a drop in stock prices Wednesday.

"Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS," Trump said in a social media post.

Referring to the European Central Bank, he added that Powell "should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!"

The European Central Bank on Thursday lowered its key interest rate from 2.5% to 2.25%.

Powell was initially nominated by Trump in 2017, and he was appointed to another four-year term by President Joe Biden in 2022. At a November news conference, Powell indicated he would not step down if Trump asked him to resign.

He has also said that the removal or demotion of top Fed officials was "not permitted under the law."

Trump's comments come with the backdrop of a legal case headed to the Supreme Court that could determine whether presidents can fire the heads of independent agencies such as the Fed. Powell said Wednesday he was watching the case.

"A sudden crystallization of the threat to Fed independence would ... intensify market stress," Krishna Guha, an analyst at investment bank Evercore ISI, wrote on Thursday. "If you liked the tariff debacle in markets, you'd love the loss-of-Fed-independence trade."

Powell started Trump's second term in a relatively secure spot with a low unemployment rate and inflation progressing closer to the Fed's 2% target, conditions that could have spared the U.S. central banker from the president's vitriol.

But Trump's aggressive and haphazard tariffs have increased the threat of a recession with both higher inflationary pressures and slower growth, a tough spot for Powell, whose mandate is to stabilize prices and maximize employment. With the economy weakening because of Trump's choices, the president appears to be looking to pin the blame on Powell.

Powell, in his remarks at the Economic Club of Chicago on Wednesday, said the Fed will base its decisions solely on what is best for all Americans.

"That's the only thing we're ever going to do," Powell said. "We're never going to be influenced by any political pressure. People can say whatever they want. That's fine, that's not a problem. But we will do what we do strictly without consideration of political or any other extraneous factors."

"Our independence is a matter of law," Powell continued. "We're not removable except for cause. We serve very long terms, seemingly endless terms. So we're protected into law. Congress could change that law, but I don't think there's any danger of that. Fed independence has pretty broad support across both political parties and in both sides of the Hill."

Trump has unleashed a rash of tariffs that have put the U.S. economy and the Fed in an increasingly perilous spot. On April 2, the president rolled out aggressive tariff hikes based off U.S. trade deficits with other nations, causing a financial market backlash that almost immediately led him to announce a 90-day pause in which most countries would be charged a baseline 10% tariff while negotiations go forward. But Trump increased his tariff hikes on China to a rate of 145%, in addition to his existing tariffs on Canada, Mexico, autos and steel and aluminum.

Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs have raised their odds that a recession could start. Consumers are increasingly pessimistic in surveys about their job prospects and fearful that inflation will shoot up as the cost of the import taxes get passed along to them. The risk of stagflation — stagnant growth and high inflation — would make it harder for the Fed to respond with the same playbook as recent downturns.

The Budget Lab at Yale University estimated that the increased inflationary pressures from the tariffs would be equal to the loss of $4,900 in an average U.S. household.

[SuperHoneyBadger]

No more federal than Federal Express

END THE FED, BABY

[Newbeeee™]

No more federal than Federal Express

END THE FED, BABY

Careful....Smitty will start name calling you a tinny foiler

[beej]

Trump is now in agreement with Elizabeth Warren, (the only person who voted against his nomination) Who woulda thought?

the other funny thing is to complain that Trump only appoints sycophants is a little silly considering he appointed Powell in the first place.

yawn

[Smit]

Trump is now in agreement with Elizabeth Warren, (the only person who voted against his nomination) Who woulda thought?

the other funny thing is to complain that Trump only appoints sycophants is a little silly considering he appointed Powell in the first place.

yawn

You sure like to rationalize things away like nobody I've ever seen before. 

In his first term Trump did indeed appoint some people who were qualified for the job. Probably by accident but still, give credit where it's due.

2nd term it's clear he gives no shits about qualifications, only loyalty. So yeah, I consider that to be a cause for concern.

And the Fed following directions from Trump is a pretty scary scenario.

[mowens]

Good ideas poorly implemented = bad ideas

[beej]

2nd term it's clear he gives no shits about qualifications, only loyalty.

that's what you said during the first term but now you are looking back on the first term and giving him credit for not doing that.

[neurosis]

the other funny thing is to complain that Trump only appoints sycophants is a little silly considering he appointed Powell in the first place.

Powell made the mistake of not ego stroking in his wording during the "outlook for the U.S. economy" speech. Now he's dead to Trump.

MTG for Fed Chair!     




 

[Smit]

Powell made the mistake of not ego stroking in his wording during the "outlook for the U.S. economy" speech. Now he's dead to Trump.

MTG for Fed Chair!     

Matt Gaetz needs a job.

[beej]

Powell made the mistake of not ego stroking in his wording during the "outlook for the U.S. economy" speech. Now he's dead to Trump.

Bill Maher says that in private Trump uses a lot of self-depricating humor. I wonder how that squares with your view of him.

[Del.]

Bill Maher says that in private Trump uses a lot of self-depricating humor. I wonder how that squares with your view of him.

He's on the fence about that.

[neurosis]

Bill Maher says that in private Trump uses a lot of self-depricating humor. I wonder how that squares with your view of him.

My opinion of Trump came long before he ever ran for office. I've said that multiple times in here. I posted the documentary (which was also made LONG before Trump ever ran for office) that helped shape my opinion of him. The constant insults and lies during his first campaign just re-enforced my already bad opinion of him.

Toss all of that aside, you won't see Bill Maher supporting any of Trumps crazyness just because he foud him to be personable during a 2 hour dinner at the White House.