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Trump says he should get a say on Federal Reserve interest rate decisions

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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on August 08, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. 

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday said that he should have a voice when the Federal Reserve makes its decisions on interest rates.

“I feel the president should have at least (a) say in there,” Trump said during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. “Yeah, I feel that strongly. I think that in my case, I made a lot of money, I was very successful, and I think I have a better instinct than, in many cases, people that would be on the Federal Reserve or the chairman.”

The comments seem to reinforce reporting earlier this year, from the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere, that advisors close to the former president are looking at a host of changes for the central bank should he be elected in November.

Among the ideas being floated are forcing the Fed to consult with the president when making rate decisions. Others include making the central bank run regulatory changes past the White House and using the Treasury Department as an overseer for the Fed’s actions.

While in office from 2017 to 2021, President Trump was a fierce critic of Chair Jerome Powell, whom Trump appointed in 2018.

“Well, look, the Federal Reserve is a very interesting thing. It’s sort of gotten it wrong a lot, and he’s tending to be a little bit later on things,” Trump said of Powell and his colleagues. Powell “gets a little bit too early and a little bit too late. And, you know, that’s very largely a, it’s a gut feeling. I believe it’s really a gut feeling. And I used to have it out with him.”

Fed officials often stress the importance of the central bank’s independence from political influence, and Powell has said repeatedly that criticisms from Trump or other officials don’t weigh into monetary policy decisions.

Trump insisted that he and Powell “get along fine” though part of the changes his team is looking at include dismissing Powell or at least not reappointing him when his term as chair expires in 2026.

The Fed has undergone criticism for waiting too long to raise rates when inflation started to spike in 2021, and now faces the same scrutiny for not reducing even though inflation rates have moved steadily lower.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), for instance, has repeatedly called on the Fed to lower rates.

The Fed hiked benchmark interest rates 5.25 percentage points from March 2022-July 2023 in an effort to bring down inflation. Markets widely expect the central bank to start reducing rates in September. Trump generally favors lower interest rates and criticized the Fed frequently for raising in 2018.

Economics

What would Robert F. Kennedy junior mean for American health?

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AS IN MOST marriages of convenience, Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy junior make unusual bedfellows. One enjoys junk food, hates exercise and loves oil. The other talks of clean food, getting America moving again and wants to eliminate oils of all sorts (from seed oil to Mr Trump’s beloved “liquid gold”). One has called the covid-19 vaccine a “miracle”, the other is a long-term vaccine sceptic. Yet on November 14th Mr Trump announced that Mr Kennedy was his pick for secretary of health and human services (HHS).

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Economics

What would Robert Kennedy junior mean for American health?

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on

AS IN MOST marriages of convenience, Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy junior make unusual bedfellows. One enjoys junk food, hates exercise and loves oil. The other talks of clean food, getting America moving again and wants to eliminate oils of all sorts (from seed oil to Mr Trump’s beloved “liquid gold”). One has called the covid-19 vaccine a “miracle”, the other is a long-term vaccine sceptic. Yet on November 14th Mr Trump announced that Mr Kennedy was his pick for secretary of health and human services (HHS).

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Economics

UK economy ekes out 0.1% growth, below expectations

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Bank of England in the City of London on 6th November 2024 in London, United Kingdom. The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the primary central business district CBD of London. The City of London is widely referred to simply as the City is also colloquially known as the Square Mile. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images

The U.K. economy expanded by 0.1% in the third quarter of the year, the Office for National Statistics said Friday.

That was below the expectations of economists polled by Reuters who forecast 0.2% gross domestic product growth on the previous three months of the year.

It comes after inflation in the U.K. fell sharply to 1.7% in September, dipping below the Bank of England’s 2% target for the first time since April 2021. The fall in inflation helped pave the way for the central bank to cut rates by 25 basis points on Nov. 7, bringing its key rate to 4.75%.

The Bank of England said last week it expects the Labour Government’s tax-raising budget to boost GDP by 0.75 percentage points in a year’s time. Policymakers also noted that the government’s fiscal plan had led to an increase in their inflation forecasts.

The outcome of the recent U.S. election has fostered much uncertainty about the global economic impact of another term from President-elect Donald Trump. While Trump’s proposed tariffs are expected to be widely inflationary and hit the European economy hard, some analysts have said such measures could provide opportunities for the British economy.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey gave little away last week on the bank’s views of Trump’s tariff agenda, but he did reference risks around global fragmentation.

“Let’s wait and see where things get to. I’m not going to prejudge what might happen, what might not happen,” he told reporters during a press briefing.

This is a breaking news story. Please refresh for updates.

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