Trump Names New Fed Chief; "Safe Choice" Would Favor Interest Rate Cuts, as Trump Also Wants

Crooked partisan Jerome Powell left the federal prime interest rate unchanged, declaring that no cut was needed, as the economy was experiencing solid growth.

The Federal Reserve held its key interest steady in a range between 3.5% and 3.75% after a recent run of interest rate cuts.

"Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have remained low, and the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization," the central bank said in its post-meeting statement. "Inflation remains somewhat elevated."

...

Importantly, the statement also erased a clause indicating that the committee saw a higher risk from the threat of a weakening labor market than that of heightened inflation. That would argue for a pause on rate cuts at least in the near term as officials see the Fed's dual goals of low inflation and full employment more in balance.

There was little in the way of guidance about what's coming next, with markets expecting the Fed to wait until at least June before adjusting its benchmark rate again.

Well, the economy is indeed growing. But supposedly the economy was growing during Biden's Miracle Economy and Powell still cut interest rates, months before an election considered a referendum on Biden's stewardship over the economy. And inflation was still raising.

Trump can't wait until this guy is out office, and thankfully, his term ends in May.

Trump has already named Powell's replacement.

IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn said Sunday that President Trump's nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve Board is "very highly qualified" and will "take the Fed back to its traditional" norms.

"I think we're very fortunate to have Kevin to be the nominee," Cohn said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

On Friday, Mr. Trump announced that he had nominated Kevin Warsh to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve Board, writing in a post on Truth Social that he has "no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best."

...

Cohn, the former National Economic Council director in President Trump's first term, praised Warsh on Sunday, saying that he brings a "unique background" and highlighting his work on the Fed board during the 2008 financial crisis.

"He was instrumental in that crisis," Cohn said. "Kevin was the point person at the Fed -- he was involved in every one of those discussions. And I truly believe, without Kevin's expertise, and without Kevin being there, we would not have come out of the 2008 crisis as well as we have."

The president's selection of Warsh as his nominee was expected to be viewed as a safe choice on Wall Street given his monetary policy experience and well-established views on inflation.

Cohn said he expects Warsh to "stay out of a lot of the non-financial issues," while he is "going to be involved, obviously, in setting interest rate policy."

"There is a pressure right now for interest rates to go lower," Cohn said. "I think that he will probably follow through on the one to two cuts this year."

posted by Ace at 05:30 PM

| Access Comments