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President Donald Trump on Friday demanded that the Federal Reserve slash interest rates or else he will cut off trade with countries with which the U.S. maintains trade deficits. Trump issued the sweeping ultimatum in a Truth Social post reacting to a much-stronger-than-expected monthly jobs report by urging the central bank and its chairman, Kevin Warsh, to “get smart” and cut rates. Read Trump’s full post: Great jobs number just announced, breaking all estimates (except mine!) by double and triple - And you haven’t seen anything yet! EMPLOYERS ADDED 162,000 JOB IN AUGUST. Lower the interest rates because the U.S.A....

Bond yields climbed Thursday, erasing most of the pullback they saw the previous day after the Treasury Department announced an intervention aimed at easing pressure on longer-dated government debt. The yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond — the primary focus of the accelerated buyback — was up more than 4 basis points at 5.236%. Yields on 10-year U.S. Treasurys — the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — moved more than 4 basis points higher to 4.696%. The 10- and 30-year yield levels were right around the level they held before the 8:30 a.m. announcement...

The Treasury Department on Wednesday said it will more than double the size of its government debt repurchases, sending yields sharply lower at a time of substantial market stress. With fixed income markets under pressure and yields surging to levels not seen in nearly 20 years, the announcement targets the sensitive longer-duration part of the Treasury market. Under the accelerated buyback, Treasury, led by Secretary Scott Bessent, will target the 10- to 20- year and 20- to 30-year portion of the market, which has seen a buyers’ strike since late June. The government will “at least double” the maximum size...

Treasury yields were higher on Monday as traders looked ahead to the latest FOMC minutes due later in the week. The 30-year Treasury yield, which is typically sensitive to geopolitical events, advanced more than 4 basis points to 5.311%. It reached its highest level since June 2007. The 10-year Treasury note yield — the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans and credit card debt — was more than 2 basis points higher at 4.724%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which typically reacts in line with short-term Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, rose more than 1 basis point to...

Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan, asserting that this week’s good inflation news wasn’t good enough, called Thursday for “modestly” higher interest rates to win a battle the central bank has been losing for the past five years. A voting member this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, Logan insisted that inflation is still a major problem for U.S. households that demands action from policymakers. While other Fed officials have expressed a preference for higher rates if inflation metrics don’t improve, Logan’s is the most specific call for a hike. “I currently believe modestly higher interest rates would...

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...

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.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. should have the "lowest interest rates in the world" and argued that rate cuts would significantly reduce federal borrowing costs during an interview Tuesday on FOX Business’ "Kudlow." "This country should have the lowest interest rates in the world," Trump told host Larry Kudlow. "We keep the world going." Trump tied interest rates to government interest expenses, saying that changes of a few points could significantly alter federal finances. "Every point is $600 billion," Trump said. "All he has to do if we went down two points, we don't have a deficit anymore," he...

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voted to take a break from a recent run of interest rate cuts, as the central bank navigates questions about its independence and awaits a new leader. Meeting market expectations, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep its key interest rate in a range between 3.5%-3.75%. The decision put a halt to three consecutive quarter percentage point reductions, billed as maintenance moves to guard against potential downturns in the labor market. In voting to hold the line, the committee raised its assessment of economic growth. It also eased its concerns about the...

The chairman of the new House subcommittee aimed at uncovering the truth behind the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., says his panel is concerned about the dozens of paid, federal informants present during the demonstrations, and is concerned that the intelligence they gathered was not properly shared with law enforcement. “One thing that we have learned, and this came on the tail end of the Biden administration, when their Department of Justice admitted that they had many, I mean, more than two dozen, paid informants embedded in the crowd,” Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., told the...

Rates are much higher in states that have closed nuclear and fossil-fuel generation plants. Electricity prices are rising, and Democrats are making it a campaign issue. They blame the price hike on President Trump and congressional Republicans, who ended Biden-era renewable-energy subsidies in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But prices are actually soaring because of plant closures and natural-gas shortages in blue states, all in the name of green energy. Energy Department data show that electricity prices in California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York have risen more than 30% in the past five years compared with just...

Regional bank stocks tumbled on Thursday after Zions Bancorp said it would write off fraudulent loans made to two borrowers, adding to investors’ fears about lending standards and stress in credit markets. Zions Bancorp (ZION) on Thursday said it had recently identified “what it believes to be apparent misrepresentations and contractual defaults” by two borrowers. As a result, it plans to write off $50 million of the $60 million outstanding on the affected loans. Shares of Zions dropped 13% on Thursday, leading regional banks lower. The KBW Regional Banking Index fell 6%. The recent bankruptcies of two companies in the...

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved a widely anticipated rate cut and signaled that two more are on the way before the end of the year as concerns intensified over the U.S. labor market even as inflation is still in the air. In an 11-to-1 vote signaling less dissent than Wall Street had anticipated, the Federal Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point. The decision puts the overnight funds rate in a range between 4.00%-4.25%. Newly installed Governor Stephen Miran was the only policymaker voting against the quarter-point move, instead advocating...

“I want to present some facts to the president of the United States, and I imagine this is alarming to the president to learn these facts.” – California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In one of his endless attempts to grab a headline, California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week taunted President Donald Trump, saying that if he’s serious about fighting crime, he should be sending the National Guard to red states such as Louisiana, which has a murder rate far higher than California. Newsom’s attempt to troll the president failed on Sunday, when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem took the attention-starved governor...

NEW YORK (AP) — A top official at the Federal Reserve said Saturday that this month’s stunning, weaker-than-expected report on the U.S. job market is strengthening her belief that interest rates should be lower. Michelle Bowman was one of two Fed officials who voted a week and a half ago in favor of cutting interest rates. Such a move could help boost the economy by making it cheaper for people to borrow money to buy a house or a car, but it could also threaten to push inflation higher. Bowman and a fellow dissenter lost out after nine other Fed...

What is the likelihood that the Fed will change the Federal target rate at upcoming FOMC meetings, according to interest rate traders? Use CME FedWatch to track the probabilities of changes to the Fed rate, as implied by 30-Day Fed Funds futures prices.

Despite ongoing pressure from President Donald Trump, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to leave key interest rates unchanged, according to market projections and analysts. Powell is set to announce his decision today. Most data indicates the economy is in good shape, with a relatively low 4.1% unemployment rate and relatively subdued inflation. But in June, the economy began to show prices for apparel, appliances and toys beginning to accelerate, and forecasters suggested tariffs would be likely to continue to drive up consumer prices. In a twist, Powell said the Fed might have already cut interest rates had it...

Are interest rates too high? A lot of people think they are, and a growing chorus of voices is calling on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut rates. Are they right? Does the central bank need to step in, slash interest rates, and loosen monetary policy? The honest answer to the question is that nobody really knows. However, from a historical perspective, interest rates are low, and monetary policy remains loose. What Are Interest Rates? Before we delve into whether the current interest rate environment is too high or too low, we need to understand exactly what an interest...

The Federal Reserve delivered an unexpected blow to hopes for lower borrowing costs in the future, projecting higher inflation and higher interest rates in updated forecasts released Wednesday. While policymakers left their benchmark rate unchanged and signaled that they may cut in the second half of this year, forecasts of officials showed they expect fewer cuts next year and the year after that. The central bank held the federal funds target at 4.25 to 4.50 percent, its level since the December rate cut. But the accompanying economic projections revealed rising concern that inflation is not receding fast enough—and that rates...

Sarcasm and Silliness from a Windy City Cop Wednesday, June 18, 2025 What's This? Crime is down? Nationally? Murder rates are plummeting. While we still have more than half a year to go, Kash Patel, the FBI’s director, says that the U.S. is on track to have the lowest murder rate ever. The current record low occurred in 2014 when the FBI reported a murder rate of 4.45 per 100,000. The question is: why? Law enforcement matters, but it is probably also that Trump is deporting criminal illegal aliens. According to Patel, “Let good cops be cops,” is the answer....