Business live: Dollar drops as Trump threatens Fed credibility
Trading in Asian stock markets was subdued as the ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding, reducing the risks of oil supply disruptions. Although investors are now looking ahead to President Trump's deadline on tariffs.
The FTSE 100 is forecast to open 16 points lower when trading begins shortly. The index closed down 40 points yesterday.
Oil prices have stabilised, with the benchmark Brent crude future contract trading just below $67 a barrel. The price of gold has edged higher to $3.334.89 an ounce.
The dollar has fallen to a fresh three-year low against a basket of currencies after President Trump was reported to be considering announcing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by October.
The Wall Street Journal report unsettled currency markets as it raised concerns about the future independence of the Fed and potentially undermined faith in the soundness of the country's monetary policy.
Kieran Williams, head of Asia foreign exchange at InTouch Capital Markets, said: 'Markets are likely to bristle at any early move to name Powell's successor, particularly if the decision appears politically motivated.'
Trump has been pressuring the Fed chief to lower interest rates, branding him 'Too Late' Jerome Powell. Powell told the Senate yesterday that the Fed had to be wary about cutting rates as the President's tariff plans were an inflation risk.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
36 minutes ago
- The Independent
‘You cheer against Trump so hard': Hegseth scolds Iran nuclear strike reporting with no proof of ‘devastation'
The former Fox News weekend presenter who now serves as the head of the massive American defense establishment baselessly accused the Pentagon press corps — including one of his former colleagues — of deliberately trying to cast doubt on the success of last weekend's U.S. airstrikes against Iranian nuclear sites out of a desire to undermine the Trump administration in a bizarre rant-filled press conference aimed at the Pentagon on Thursday. Speaking alongside the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon briefing room, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth laid into the assembled reporters from the start by grousing about how news outlets hadn't given President Donald Trump enough credit for NATO members' decision to increase defense spending to an annual five percent of GDP at this week's summit in The Hague. He also accused them of missing 'historic moments' while trying to 'find wedges and spin stories' before claiming the airstrikes aimed at Iran's Esfahan, Fordow and Natanz nuclear sites on Saturday had been 'the most complex and secretive military operation in history' and 'a resounding success.' The airstrikes, which were conducted by seven B-2 Spirit bomber aircraft with the aid of numerous fighters and an Ohio-class guided missile submarine that fired dozens of Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles at one of the target sites, appear to have inflicted significant damage on the sites. But Hegseth and President Donald Trump have become increasingly irate over press coverage of the action because of reporting in the last few days which cited a preliminary report stating that the damage to the underground Fordow site wasn't enough to match their claims to have 'obliterated' the facilities. Hegseth complained that the press had reported on the preliminary document and cited other more recent statements from some of Trump's political appointees which assessed that the strikes had 'severely damaged' Iran's nuclear program before returning to attacking journalists and accusing them of wanting the military to fail because it would look bad for Trump. 'You cheer against Trump so hard, it's like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump,' he said. 'Because you want him not to be successful so bad, you have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes.' 'You have to hope maybe they weren't effective, maybe the way the Trump administration is representing them isn't true. So let's take half truths, spun information, leaked information, and then spin it, spin it in every way we can, to try to cause doubt and manipulate the mind, the public mind over whether or not our brave pilots were successful,' he added. The ex-Fox News host's combative demeanor at the early-morning press conference matched the performative outrage he displayed alongside Trump less than a day before, when he called the bombing mission 'flawless' and said the 30,000 pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator weapons dropped onto the hardened Fordow site had created 'devastation underneath' before attacking the motives of the Defense Intelligence Agency analysts who'd written the intelligence assessment and accusing news outlets that have reported on it of 'trying to spin it to make the president look bad when this was an overwhelming success.'
Times
38 minutes ago
- Times
Pete Hegseth live: Trump team slams press over strikes coverage
Asked whether he believes highly enriched uranium was moved out of the nuclear sites before Saturday's strikes, Hegseth said there was 'nothing to suggest' anything was moved out by the Iranians ahead of time. Dan Caine says that the 30,000lb bunker-busters behaved as the military expected, but that it will not provide a damage assessment due to it being a job for the intelligence community. 'We don't mark our own homework,' he said. Dan Caine, the air force general, says that two intelligence officials were investigating the Iranian nuclear site at Fordow for 15 years. They knew it 'wasn't being built for any peaceful purposes … they realised we didn't have a weapon [to take out the plant],' he said. 'Operation Midnight Hammer was the culmination of their work. 'The weapons were designed, planned and delivered to achieve the effects in the mission space.' President Trump has said on Truth Social that there is rumour that the New York Times and CNN will fire reporters 'who made up the fake stories on the Iran nuclear sites'. Dan Caine, the air force general and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, is now talking about the Iranian attacks on the US base in Qatar on Monday. Caine described the deployment of Patriot missiles to defend the base as 'the largest single Patriot engagement in US military history'. He would not say how many rounds were fired, saying it is classified. Hegseth says the press relied too much on a US preliminary intelligence report, which suggested little damage had been done to the sites. 'Specifically you the press corps to cheer against Trump so much, you have to hope the strikes weren't effective … [you think] 'let's take leaked information and spin it to cause doubt and manipulate the public mind'.' Pete Hegseth has started by attacking the press over its coverage of the damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear sites facilities at Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz. 'Searching for scandals you miss historic moments,' he said. Iran had retaliated on Monday with a missile attack on a US base in nearby Qatar, but caused no casualties. In an apparent reference to the attack, Ayatollah Khamenei said 'such an action can be repeated in the future, too,' adding that Iran had 'access to key US centres in the region and can take action whenever it deems necessary'. 'Should any aggression occur, the enemy will definitely pay a heavy price,' he said. Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, will hold a news conference shortly to offer a fresh assessment of strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. President Trump said that Hegseth, whom he dubbed the 'war' secretary, would hold a news conference to 'fight for the dignity of our great American pilots'. Ayatollah Khamenei, 86, hasn't been seen in public since taking shelter in a secret location after the outbreak of the war on June 13, when Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities and targeted top military commanders and scientists. After an American attack on June 22, that hit the nuclear sites with bunker-buster bombs, President Trump helped negotiate a ceasefire that came into effect on Tuesday. In his appearance on Thursday, Ayatollah Khamenei sat in front of plain brown curtains to give his address, similar to his June 19 message. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, has said his country delivered a 'hand slap to the face of America' in his first televised address since the fragile ceasefire was declared in the war with Israel. Claiming victory over Israel, Ayatollah Khamenei said the US had only intervened because 'it felt that if it did not intervene, the Zionist regime would be utterly destroyed.' He warned the US 'will definitely pay a heavy price' should it attack Iran again. His comments came in the wake of an attack on Sunday in which American forces hit three Iranian nuclear facilities with bunker-buster bombs and cruise missiles.
Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
Crypto exchange Kraken debuts peer-to-peer payments app Krak
June 26 (Reuters) - Crypto exchange Kraken on Thursday launched a peer-to-peer payments app that enables users to send and receive funds - in both cryptocurrency and fiat currency - across more than a hundred countries. The move is a bid to expand Kraken's offerings beyond its digital asset trading business, and puts the firm in competition with PayPal, Venmo and Block's CashApp. Crypto exchanges such as Kraken are increasingly signaling an interest in expanding outside of the digital asset trading that initially became popular with retail investors. Kraken said last month that it is launching tokens of U.S. equities, called xStocks, in select markets outside the United States. Krak users will have a dedicated spend account and will be able to instantly send and request payments across 300 different assets, including crypto and local currencies, the company said in a press release. Crypto transfers will be made using blockchain technology, while Kraken will make cash transfers internally without using external banking infrastructure. "We're able to move money across borders right off the bat, because that's what we do from a trading perspective in our venues, and we've actually already spent over 10 years building out that system for money transmitter licenses... in all the jurisdictions," said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, in an interview with Reuters. "You have to do that as an exchange anyways, and so what we realized is that our customers just wanted to do more with their money." Kraken plans to launch a series of products through Krak in the future, including physical and virtual cards as well as pay-in-advance services like loans, the company said.
