Free Republic

Former recent Federal Reserve chair contender and BlackRock chief investment officer of fixed income Rick Rieder thinks the guy who ultimately got the gig — Kevin Warsh — has one big challenge on his hands. That is, a rate hike won't necessarily bring down the cost of things for households. "What is difficult concerning inflation today, based on the San Francisco Fed's analysis, is that the cyclical parts of inflation are generally well behaved, yet it is the acyclical parts of inflation that are difficult to contain, and tend to resist movements in interest rates," Rieder wrote in a new...

Investors on Wall Street and observers of the Federal Reserve in Washington largely expect the central bank to raise interest rates when it meets this week, but some prominent economists are warning that such a move could prove to be a mistake. They see the economy as more vulnerable to a steep slowdown in growth than commonly believed. The Fed’s job is to keep employment steady and inflation under control. If central bank officials raise rates on Wednesday, the goal will be to cool inflation. But these economists worry that a rate hike could cause a sharp cut in economic...

President Donald Trump on Friday doubled down on his threat to cut off trade with countries that have surpluses with the U.S. unless the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates. “What I’m saying, very simply, is that we should be paying the lowest interest rate in the world,” Trump said in the Oval Office Friday afternoon. He had been asked about his Truth Social post earlier in the day declaring, “LOWER THE RATE OR I’LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT.” Trump issued that sweeping ultimatum after urging the Fed and its chairman, Kevin Warsh, to “get...

The high court will also hear arguments about overturning a 90-year-old precedent that allowed Congress to create independent agencies.The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump to fire the sole remaining Democrat on the Federal Trade Commission, the latest victory in his aggressive push to exert greater control over the federal bureaucracy. The justices overturned a lower-court injunction that reinstated Rebecca Slaughter to her position with the agency that oversees antitrust and consumer protection issues while litigation over her removal works its way through the courts. The ruling — while provisional — is significant because the...

President Donald Trump secured one of the biggest constitutional victories of his presidency after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 91 year old precedent that had limited a president’s authority to remove officials from so called “independent” federal agencies. In a 6 to 3 ruling, the Court held that presidents have the constitutional authority to remove officials serving in executive branch agencies, striking down key parts of the Court’s 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. The ruling immediately gives Trump the authority to remove Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat whose case became the central test of...

US Attorney Pirro @USAttyPirro·16h John Rogers spent years secretly funneling sensitive Federal Reserve information to Chinese spies, then looked investigators in the eye and lied about it. And when that wasn’t enough, he lied again under oath at trial. Federal Reserve employees entrusted with America’s most sensitive economic information cannot sell out their country and their colleagues for personal gain and then expect to hide behind a single word. U.S. Attorney DC @USAO_DC John Harold Rogers, 64, a former senior adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB), was sentenced today in to 38 months in federal prison in...

Kevin Warsh was confirmed as the next Federal Reserve chairman on Wednesday — even as surging inflation has begun to box the central bank into one of its toughest corners in years. The Senate on Wednesday voted 54-45 to elevate President Trump’s pick to Fed chairman, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) the only Democrat to cast a vote in his favor. A day earlier, lawmakers approved Warsh to a 14-year term on the Fed’s Board of Governors in a narrow 51-45 vote. Warsh is expected to replace outgoing Chair Jerome Powell by the end of the week — inheriting an...

An unusually divided Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its key interest rate steady as policymakers grappled with the policy impact of persistent inflation and awaited a looming leadership transition at the central bank. In what may have been Chair Jerome Powell’s final meeting at the helm, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold the benchmark funds rate in a range between 3.5%-3.75%. Markets had been pricing in a 100% chance of no change.

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,...

White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said Wednesday that the authors of a recent New York Federal Reserve paper that found U.S. companies and consumers are shouldering most of the tariff burden should be “disciplined.” In a CNBC interview, the National Economic Council director ripped the report, saying that central bank researchers ignored key aspects of how the duties worked and instead simply focused on prices. Hassett said the research also should have included the upward impact on wages and benefits that U.S. companies see by bringing more production onshore.

Independence at the Federal Reserve? Only sometimes, it seems.was rocked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Then, the progressive lawmaker exposed her hypocrisy at a confirmation hearing involving Stephen Miran, President Donald Trump’s pick to join the Federal Reserve Board temporarily. While Warren shrieked in the upper chamber about central bank independence, she forgot to talk about her own list of demands to Fed Chair Jerome Powell.Elizabeth Warren Talks to Stephen MiranLast month, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler abruptly resigned from the Eccles Building, effectively vacating a seat at the powerful establishment. Days later, President Trump unveiled...

The Trump administration has made no secret of its desire to push the monetary easing pedal to the metal, even as the engine is already near the red line. They intend to push the system as hard as possible today and worry about the consequences later. One reason may be to inflate the stock market ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. There are several indicators that the Trump administration intends to run it hot in 2026. The first — and most important — is that Trump will likely succeed in consolidating control over the Federal Reserve. Jerome Powell’s term as...

President Donald Trump on Friday formally nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the U.S. central bank, bringing a turbulent and politically charged transition at the Fed closer to resolution. The decision concludes a months-long search process that unfolded amid extraordinary pressure on the Federal Reserve, rising concerns over inflation persistence, and growing debate about the future independence of the central bank. Trump announced the nomination in a Truth Social post, praising Warsh as a steady and capable choice during a volatile period for monetary policy. “I have known Kevin for a long...

Gold and silver prices plunged on 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. By 7:12 a.m. ET, spot silver was down 10.6% to settle at around $103.81 an ounce, paring back earlier losses. In the early hours of the morning, the metal had plummeted as much as 16% and dipped below the $100 milestone.

Sen. Thom Tillis said Friday that he will oppose President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair until the criminal probe of the current Chair Jerome Powell is “fully” resolved. “Protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve from political interference or legal intimidation is non-negotiable,” the North Carolina Republican said in a statement on X. Tillis, who is set to retire, vowed earlier this month to oppose any new nominee for the Fed until the Department of Justice’s controversial investigation of Powell is completed. Tillis is a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee,...

A Delaware Court of Chancery judge has rejected a motion from activist investor HoldCo Asset Management that sought to legally block Fifth Third's acquisition of Comerica.On Jan. 14 -- the day after the deal had received all necessary regulatory approvals and a Feb. 1 closing date was set -- HoldCo filed an emergency motion for temporary restraining order to stall the merger's closing. Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn denied HoldCo's motion Friday."Enjoining a premium merger on the eve of closing will introduce substantial delay and uncertainty," Zurn wrote in a Monday filing explaining her denial. "While HoldCo mourns a topping...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will attend the Supreme Court’s oral argument Wednesday in a case involving the attempted firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook, an unusual show of support by the central bank chair. The high court is considering whether President Donald Trump can fire Cook, as he said he would do in late August, in an unprecedented attempt to remove one of the seven members of the Fed’s governing board. Powell plans to attend the high court’s Wednesday session, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. It’s a...

Former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh soared ahead of National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on prediction markets betting on the next Fed chair after President Trump on Friday hinted that Hassett might be out of the running. Trump did not reveal his final choice to replace Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, but said he would like to keep Hassett in his current role. “I see Kevin’s in the audience, and I just want to thank you. You were fantastic on television today,” the president said during remarks at the White House on Friday. “I actually want to keep you where...

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...

Can Trump finally bring the gravy train to a screeching halt? During the Biden years, as inflation soared, Jerome Powell somehow said that inflation was transitory: Powell flirts again with a dangerous way to describe inflation: ‘Transitory’A fraught word resurfaced in the Federal Reserve’s lexicon again this week: ‘transitory.’ Yet somehow, he never blamed Biden’s energy policies (hundreds of billions in subsidies), open borders (hundreds of billions for various programs for illegals), or bureaucratic regulations, which all directly contributed to massive amounts spending, which in turn, created inflation when the Fed created the dollars needed for the bill. One of...