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Equity Markets Down Ahead of Fed Meeting Minutes
US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday as traders awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve's
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
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Trump calls on Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook to resign, renewing attack on central bank
Donald Trump has called on a Federal Reserve governor to immediately resign, renewing his extraordinary attack on the central bank's independence as officials mull next steps on interest rates. A close Trump ally accused Lisa Cook, an appointee of Joe Biden, of 'potentially committing mortgage fraud' and urged the US Department of Justice to investigate. The claims have not been confirmed. The US president has repeatedly broken with precedent in recent months to demand the Fed cut rates and urge its chair, Jerome Powell, to quit after disregarding such calls. On Wednesday, Trump leaped on the allegations about Cook. The governor 'must resign, now!!!' he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. Cook and the Fed did not respond to requests for comment. Cook, whose current term on the Fed's board extends until 2038, previously served on the council of economic advisers under Barack Obama. When she took office in May 2022, she became the first Black woman to sit on the central bank's board. This morning, Bill Pulte, head of the US Federal Housing Finance Agency, who has become – beyond the president himself – one of the Trump administration's most vocal critics of Powell and the Fed, published allegations against Cook. In June 2021, Cook entered into a 15-year mortgage agreement on a property in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and declared her intention to use it as her principal residence, according to Pulte. In July 2021, Cook bought a property in Atlanta, Georgia, and also committed to use that property as her primary residence when taking out a 30-year mortgage, according to Pulte. Pulte referred Cook to the justice department for a criminal investigation, and promptly called on her to resign. 'How can this woman be in charge of interest rates if she is allegedly lying to help her own interest rates?' he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Cook, who has not commented on the allegations, is the latest figure to be targeted by Trump officials over claims of mortgage fraud. Pulte has made similar allegations about the New York attorney general, Letitia James, and the California senator Adam Schiff, both Democrats. The justice department is reportedly investigating. James has dismissed the claims as 'baseless'. Schiff has vehemently denied the allegations, and accused the administration of weaponizing the US justice system. As Trump and his officials continue to pressure the Fed to cut rates, new minutes from the central bank's latest meeting underlined how most policymakers plan to scrutinize data over the coming weeks to gauge the economic impact of the administration's policies. While Fed policymakers again opted to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged in July, two of its governors opposed the decision – the first time that multiple governors have voted against the majority since 1993. Fed officials 'assessed that the effects of higher tariffs had become more apparent in the prices of some goods but that their overall effects on economic activity and inflation remained to be seen,' the minutes said. 'They also noted that it would take time to have more clarity on the magnitude and persistence of higher tariffs' effects on inflation.' After the meeting, official employment data showed that jobs growth stalled this summer – prompting Trump to fire the federal government official in charge of labor statistics – as inflation continued to rise. The two governors who called for rate cuts, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, were each appointed by Trump during his first term. Both have been floated as potential replacements for Powell, whose term as chair will end next May. Powell is due to deliver a highly-anticipated speech at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Wyoming on Friday, which will be closely scrutinized for signs of where the Fed plans to take rates over the coming months.
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
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‘I am your voice': Trump relaunches on TikTok with White House account
Rally highlights, White House glamour shots and his signature moves. President Donald Trump made a surprise return to the popular video app TikTok with three montages posted to a new official @whitehouse account Tuesday night. "America we are BACK," the first post was captioned. Trump pledged "I am your voice" as the video played. The account isn't Trump's first foray with the Chinese-owned app. Both he and his 2024 rivals, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, signed up for TikTok in an effort to reach the 170 million users the company claims it has in the U.S. Trump last posted to his 15 million-plus followers from his former account @realdonaldtrump on Election Day. Candidates especially hoped to court young voters on the platform. But TikTok has faced scrutiny from the U.S. government since Trump's first administration. In August 2020, he released an executive order calling for "aggressive action" against TikTok to protect national security. One Republican-introduced bill that became law in 2022 banned most federal employees from downloading the app on government devices. MORE: Trump says Smithsonian should focus on America's 'Brightness,' not 'how bad Slavery was' U.S. authorities have listed concerns about possibilities of stolen U.S. user data and a potentially manipulative and addictive algorithm. Trump threatened to ban the app in his first term, but has thrice in his second term delayed the enforcement of a 2024 bipartisan law requiring TikTok's Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, to sell it in the U.S. or be banned. In anticipation of the initial ban deadline, TikTok briefly left app stores in the U.S. the day before Trump's second inauguration and went dark for 14 hours. A pop-up message crediting him appeared when the app started working again, reading, "As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!" TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was among many tech leaders who Trump invited to his inauguration. MORE: 6th Republican-led state sends National Guard troops to DC as Trump continues law enforcement takeover The company offered various alternatives to divesting, including increased oversight and data protection. The latest pause on the ban is set to end on Sept. 17, though Trump repeatedly vowed to cut a deal for TikTok, even suggesting the sovereign wealth fund he created in February could be used to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. Despite security concerns, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News that TikTok will be a powerful tool for the president. "The Trump administration is committed to communicating the historic successes President Trump has delivered to the American people with as many audiences and platforms as possible," Leavitt said. "President Trump's message dominated TikTok during his presidential campaign, and we're excited to build upon those successes and communicate in a way no other administration has before." Leavitt also appeared in a clip on the White House account. The account racked up more than 140,000 followers by Wednesday afternoon, still catching up to Trump's more than 10 million Truth Social followers and more than 108 million followers on his less frequently used X account.