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.
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The United States said it made significant progress on a framework aimed at ending the war in Ukraine during high-level talks in Geneva on Sunday, though no final agreement was reached.
Cameras from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) on Saturday (November 22) captured Hawaii's Kilauea volcano spewing flowing lava from its crater in its latest eruption.
Canada and India have agreed to restart negotiations for a new trade deal, Indian officials confirmed on Sunday, after talks stalled following a diplomatic spat two years ago.
Italy captured a remarkable third consecutive Davis Cup title on Sunday, with Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli securing singles victories in a 2-0 triumph over Spain in Bologna.
The United States is preparing to launch a new round of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, as President Donald Trump’s administration intensifies efforts to pressure President Nicolás Maduro’s government and targets what it calls Venezuela’s role in the regional drug trade.
Italy captured a remarkable third consecutive Davis Cup title on Sunday, with Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli securing singles victories in a 2-0 triumph over Spain in Bologna.
Air traffic at Eindhoven Airport in the southern Netherlands was suspended on Saturday evening after multiple drones were sighted near the facility, prompting the deployment of counter-drone systems and raising fresh alarm over airspace security in Europe.
Jamaica has declared an outbreak of leptospirosis, a bacterial disease suspected of causing six deaths following the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Melissa in late October.
Several international airlines have suspended flights from Venezuela after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of heightened military activity and deteriorating security conditions in the country’s airspace.
The United States said it made significant progress on a framework aimed at ending the war in Ukraine during high-level talks in Geneva on Sunday, though no final agreement was reached.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has quietly faded out with eight months left on its mandate, as its powers are absorbed into the federal bureaucracy and critics question whether it ever produced real savings.
Canada and India have agreed to restart negotiations for a new trade deal, Indian officials confirmed on Sunday, after talks stalled following a diplomatic spat two years ago.
Vilnius airport briefly halted night-time operations after balloons drifted towards its airspace, forcing several flights to divert.
Britain, France and Germany have drafted a counter-proposal to Washington’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan, keeping the U.S. outline as a starting point but reshaping it with their own security and reconstruction terms, according to a text seen on Sunday.
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