Free Republic

For most Americans, higher interest rates mean more expensive debt. But for retirees with substantial cash savings, the equation can flip: a Federal Reserve rate hike could put more money in their pockets without requiring them to take more investment risk. That makes the Fed’s next move unusually important for anyone living off savings. The real question for retirees is less about what the Fed does and more about what their cash is currently earning.Cash Could Become More Valuable AgainFor years, retirees were punished for playing it safe. Near-zero interest rates meant traditional savings accounts, CDs and other conservative investments...

President Donald Trump posted on Wednesday afternoon, as he was widely expected to do, fuming about the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates. “Interest Rates in the United States should be 1%, or less, because we are the Best Credit in the World — BY FAR. Our Country is BOOMING with new Investment!” wrote Trump on Truth Social, adding: If we stopped Trading with every country that we have a Deficit with, which is most of them, we would make, at least, 1.5 Trillion Dollars a year. The word “Deficit” is nothing more than a fancy word for LOSS....

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved its first interest rate hike in more than three years and indicated another to come, as part of an effort aimed at combating inflation brought on by spiraling oil prices and other factors. In a move that markets widely anticipated, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee voted 12-0 to increase its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points. The move brought the overnight funds rate to a target range of 3.75%-4%. “Inflation remains elevated,” the committee said in its brief post-meeting statement. “Today’s policy action will support a...

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest levels in 19 years on Tuesday as oil prices surge from the Iran conflict and expectations grow that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates on Wednesday. The rate milestone could ripple through the economy as the 10-year yield is a benchmark for consumers loans and corporate funding. The 10-year yield was last up more than 3 basis points to around 5%. Earlier in the session, it scaled to 5.041%, the highest since July 2007. One basis point equals 0.01 percentage point, and yields and prices move in opposite directions. The...

The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in August, more than triple Wall Street’s forecast, giving the Federal Reserve more room to raise interest rates despite President Donald Trump’s escalating demands for cuts. Hiring Rebounds After a Weak SummerNonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected just 53,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, even as the labor force expanded by 683,000 people and the participation rate rose to 61.6%. Previous months also looked stronger after revisions. June payroll growth was raised from 20,000 to...

According to the Atlanta Fed’s GDP Now REAL time model, Q3 Real GDP is 5%. The subcomponents of GDP growth are as follows: So much for the doom and gloom of Trump’s tariff “war” or Trump’s Iran “war.” 5% Real GDP growth is outstanding! And The Fed keeps on printing money (M2)! Keep on printin’! The Q3 Real GDP report is so good, I feel like yodeling!

Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as Federal Reserve chairman concluded Wednesday with no change in interest rates, the removal of key language indicating a bias toward future cuts, and a dramatically shorter policy statement. The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to keep its benchmark overnight borrowing rate anchored in a range of 3.5%-3.75%. The federal funds rate has held there since the central bank lowered rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in the latter part of 2025. With a bevy intrigue over Warsh taking the central bank helm, the meeting followed the same pattern as the others this year...

Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo agreed with analyst Ryan Payne’s take that the Federal Reserve may now have to raise interest rates to combat persistent inflation in a striking assessment given President Donald Trump’s public months-long campaign to pressure the central bank to cut rates. Bartiromo had just rolled back a clip from her interview with investor Jeffrey Gundlach on Sunday Morning Futures in which she floated whether newly-appointed Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh might raise interest rates, to which he replied that a “hike” was an “odds on bet.” Trump had berated and attacked Warsh’s predecessor Jerome Powell for...

For months, Kevin Warsh’s path to the Federal Reserve chairmanship ran straight through one Republican senator who refused to budge: Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Tillis had made clear he would block Warsh’s confirmation until the Justice Department dropped what he called an illegitimate criminal probe of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. On Friday, the DOJ dropped it. On Sunday, Tillis dropped his block. The Senate Banking Committee is now expected to vote Wednesday on Warsh’s nomination. A floor vote could follow before Powell’s term as chair expires on May 15. Tillis had made his position clear since January, when...

If the Senate wants to fight inflation and put the US economy on an even keel, it should confirm Kevin Warsh to head the Federal Reserve Board as soon as possible. Warsh’s confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee should remove any doubt that he’s the right man to head the Fed. A Stanford professor who served on the Fed board from 2006 to 2011, he’s won the respect of almost everyone, including many Democrats. Warsh made that clear Tuesday, echoing what he stressed in 2010: “Independence in the conduct of monetary policy is at the core of advanced...

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he will keep serving as head of the central bank if his nominated successor, Kevin Warsh, is not confirmed by the time his term is up in May, as dictated by the law. Separately, Powell said he will not leave his Board of Governors position, which technically extends until early 2028, until the Department of Justice investigation of him is “well and truly over with transparency and finality.” Powell said during his Wednesday press conference that he would serve as “chair pro tem” if Warsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to take over the role,...

"I cannot wait for the Democrats to take the House." Nick Fuentes tells everyone to "STAY HOME" in 2026. [Video attached]

Gold and silver prices plunged Friday, as President Donald Trump’s nomination for the next chair of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, appeared to relieve concerns about the central bank’s independence and sent the dollar soaring. Spot silver was down 28% at $83.45 an ounce, trading near its lows of the day. Silver futures plummeted 31.4% to settle at $78.53, marking its worst day since March 1980. Meanwhile, spot gold shed around 9% to trade at $4,895.22 an ounce. Gold futures dropped 11.4% to settle at $4,745.10. The sharp moves down were initially triggered by reports of Warsh’s nomination. However, they...

Call it the Post Powell Panic! After The Fed decided to do nothing at the FOMC meeting. Gold is down -12% from the peak, trading below $5,000. Silver is down -21%, trading below $100 for the first time since Friday, officially in a BEAR MARKET. Rough night in the precious metals market space. An absolute BLOODBATH. Is the top behind us? Gold -6% Silver -12% Copper -4% Platinum -13% Palladium -11% Trillions in market cap wiped out in a few hours. Powell at The Fed FOMC meeting imitating former Fed Chair Janet Yellen. And Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh for...

President Donald Trump on Friday named Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair, ending a five-month odyssey that has seen unprecedented turmoil around the central bank. The decision culminates a process that officially began last summer but started much earlier than that, with Trump launching a fusillade of criticism against the Powell-led Fed almost since Powell took the job in 2018. “I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best,” said Trump in a Truth Social post...

Keep on printing money. It seems that home price growth requires The Fed to keep printing money. S&P/Case-Shiller released the monthly Home Price Indices for November (“November” is a 3-month average of September, October and November closing prices). September closing prices include some contracts signed in July, so there is a significant lag to this data. Here is a graph of the month-over-month (MoM) change in the Case-Shiller National Index Seasonally Adjusted (SA). From S&P S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index Reports Annual Gain In November 2025 From S&P S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index Reports Annual Gain In November 2025 The S&P Cotality...

A good Federal Reserve don’t. Print money, that is. The Federal Reserve prints a lot of money (M2). Unfortunately, it largely benefits elites (the top 1%). The bottom 50% get some benefits, but the gains in net worth largely benefits the elite class. This sounds like a legal Somali daycare scheme. Perhaps The Fed should be renamed “The Federal Quality Learing Center.” Yes, Somalis have daycare centers in Columbus Ohio. Thanks Governor Dewine for doing absolutely nothing to reign in their fraud. /sarc

As President Trump has argued his case against Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell in the public square, high-ranking members of the global banking community have rallied to Powell’s defense. Trump’s argument is that Powell is either incompetent or improperly partisan, as he dithered while a Democratic regime spent the country into oblivion and now he’s refused to accelerate needed reductions in interest rates during a Republican administration. In Trump’s eyes, there has to be a reason for that, and it’s unacceptable behavior. On top of that, Powell’s supervision of the renovation of the Fed’s national headquarters (the Eccles Building) has...

The video is a reaction/commentary piece analyzing a recent CNBC interview clip featuring Joe Kernen interviewing Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Key points covered: Warren criticizes Donald Trump for allegedly trying to exert political control over the Federal Reserve (e.g., threatening to fire Chair Jerome Powell and demanding influence over interest rates). She argues the Fed must remain independent and base decisions purely on economic data like inflation and unemployment, rather than political pressure, to avoid short-term boosts that harm long-term stability. The CNBC host (Kernen) and the video's narrator push back, accusing Warren of hypocrisy. They point out that during...

Lost in the hysterical media bleating about a new criminal investigation into Jerome Powell is any attempt to report fairly on his alleged transgressions. The singular lens through which the investigation is being reported in many openly and not-so-openly left leaning outlets is that it is Donald Trump’s revenge after Powell refused to do as instructed and lower interest rates. But the aperture needs to be widened to see the full picture: the case is about more than the Chair of the Federal Reserve not bending the knee. It is about Powell’s competency as the nation’s chief money man after...