U.S. President Donald Trump said he would love for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to resign but acknowledged that many have said it would disrupt the markets if the president were to remove him. Trump made the comments in an interview with the Real America's Voice network aired on Wednesday.
The comments sparked market turmoil in both bond and strock markets but Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, 16 July, with the Nasdaq Composite hitting a fresh record, despite a brief period of volatility earlier in the day.
However, calm was restored after it was clarified that the president had no plans to remove Powell from his position.
The S&P 500 index rose by 19.65 points (0.31%) to close at 6,263.41, the Nasdaq Composite gained 51.82 points (0.25%) to finish at 20,729.62, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 220.61 points (0.50%) to end at 44,243.90.
Financial analysts noted that Goldman Sachs delivered a strong quarterly report, which helped maintain optimism in the market, despite some slight weakness in investment banking. Overall, the market appears to be undergoing a phase of profit-taking at this stage.
Trump has criticized Powell on an almost daily basis in recent days for being "too late" to cut interest rates.
The White House and some Republicans have recently expressed criticism of cost overruns in a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed's historic headquarters in Washington.
The criticism has confirmed the view that the Trump administration is actively exploring those costs as a possible avenue to try to fire the Fed chief well before his term as chair ends in May 2026.
There has been no evidence of fraud, and the Fed has pushed back on criticism of its handling of the project.
A Fed spokesperson had earlier pointed to Powell's repeated statements that he has no intention of resigning and would not if asked to do so.
Powell, who was nominated by Trump in late 2017 to lead the Fed and then nominated for a second term by then-President Joe Biden four years later, has said he intends to serve out his term as Fed chief, which ends on May 15.
Trump said earlier on Wednesday he is not planning to fire Powell.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has grown from a 1996 border security forum into a major Eurasian bloc, now representing nearly half the w...
Iran said it expects the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to condemn the move by the European troika of France, Germany and the UK which has ca...
Direct road transport between Türkiye and Syria has restarted after more than a decade. The move is expected to boost trade and support Syria’s pos...
The U.N. agency responsible for providing humanitarian aid and support for displaced people has announced cuts in its 2026 budget due to financial con...
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow and Tehran are in regular contact on a broad range of international issues, including deve...
President Ilham Aliyev’s working visit to Beijing on 30 August 2025 was primarily to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, and his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping took place on the sidelines of this multilateral gathering.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has grown from a 1996 border security forum into a major Eurasian bloc, now representing nearly half the world’s population. Its 2025 summit in Tianjin highlighted both its expanding reach and its evolving role on the global stage.
Iran said it expects the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to condemn the move by the European troika of France, Germany and the UK which has called for the return of UN sanctions against Tehran’s civilian nuclear program.
Direct road transport between Türkiye and Syria has restarted after more than a decade. The move is expected to boost trade and support Syria’s post-war recovery.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has grown from a 1996 border security forum into a major Eurasian bloc, now representing nearly half the world’s population. Its 2025 summit in Tianjin highlighted both its expanding reach and its evolving role on the global stage.
Iran said it expects the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to condemn the move by the European troika of France, Germany and the UK which has called for the return of UN sanctions against Tehran’s civilian nuclear program.
The U.N. agency responsible for providing humanitarian aid and support for displaced people has announced cuts in its 2026 budget due to financial constraints.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow and Tehran are in regular contact on a broad range of international issues, including developments related to Iran’s nuclear programme.
The EU has accused Russia of jamming the GPS signal on an aircraft carrying the European commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment