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.
A nor’easter bringing heavy rain and strong winds has caused widespread flooding across New Jersey....
Brussels has become the stage for a pivotal shift in Central Asia’s energy policy, with a focus on sustainable development, access to investment, an...
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina postponed a planned national address on Monday after a group of soldiers threatened to seize the headquarters...
The European Union’s next wave of eastward enlargement, particularly involving candidate countries in Central and Eastern Europe, could prove decisi...
Venezuela has closed its embassy in Oslo, Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday, days after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the 2...
A nor’easter bringing heavy rain and strong winds has caused widespread flooding across New Jersey.
Brussels has become the stage for a pivotal shift in Central Asia’s energy policy, with a focus on sustainable development, access to investment, and geopolitical reorientation towards Europe.
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina postponed a planned national address on Monday after a group of soldiers threatened to seize the headquarters of the state broadcaster, according to the presidency.
Venezuela has closed its embassy in Oslo, Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday, days after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
A nor’easter bringing heavy rain and strong winds has caused widespread flooding across New Jersey.
Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina postponed a planned national address on Monday after a group of soldiers threatened to seize the headquarters of the state broadcaster, according to the presidency.
The European Union’s next wave of eastward enlargement, particularly involving candidate countries in Central and Eastern Europe, could prove decisive for Europe’s energy security and competitiveness.
Venezuela has closed its embassy in Oslo, Norway’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday, days after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
NATO is reinforcing its eastern flank as Italy deploys Eurofighter Typhoons to Estonia, Finland opens a new Northern Land Forces Command, and European allies push for a continent-wide “Drone Wall” following Russian drone incursions that exposed gaps in the alliance’s air defences.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment