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CNA
a few seconds ago
- CNA
Trump calls for Fed governor to resign, widening pressure on central bank
WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump called on Wednesday (Aug 20) for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to step down, expanding pressure on the central bank after recent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates sooner. "Cook must resign, now!!!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, while sharing a Bloomberg news report on how the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) director has called for greater scrutiny of Cook over a pair of mortgages. FHFA director Bill Pulte - a staunch ally of Trump's - had reportedly written a letter to the US Attorney General calling for an investigation of Cook while suggesting that she might have committed a criminal offence. It was not immediately clear if such a probe will take place. The Trump administration has pursued allegations of mortgage fraud against high-profile Democrats who are seen as political adversaries of the president. The US leader's targeting of Cook, who sits on the central bank's rate-setting committee, comes after his repeated broadsides against Powell while the Fed kept the benchmark lending rate unchanged this year. Cook took office as a Fed governor in May 2022 and was reappointed to the board in September 2023. She was sworn in later that same month for a term ending in 2038. Cook has previously served on the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Barack Obama. In recent months, Trump has called Powell a "numbskull" and "moron" as the central bank held rates steady to monitor the effects of US tariffs on inflation. Trump had also previously suggested that what he said is an overly costly renovation of the Fed's headquarters could be a reason to oust Powell, before backing off the threat.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Dollar falls as Trump calls on Fed's Cook to resign
NEW YORK :The dollar fell on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign, as investors also waited on a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday for clues on interest rate policy. Trump cited a call by the head of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency urging the Department of Justice to probe Cook over alleged mortgage fraud. Spokespeople for Cook and the Fed did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 'The market has voted with its pocketbook that it doesn't like when the president interferes with the Federal Reserve,' said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York. Trump has been critical of Powell for being to slow to cut rates, and traders expect he will replace the Fed Chair with a more dovish appointment when his term ends in May. But Powell may stay on the board of governors, which would limit how many appointments Trump may make and could crimp plans to form a more dovish composition of policymakers. 'This is just a thinly veiled attempt to get control of the Federal Reserve, because if Powell doesn't step down as Governor when his chair ends, Trump's only appointment is the Kugler seat that he gave to Miran temporarily,' Chandler said. Trump earlier this month said he would nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final few months of a vacant Fed seat after Fed Governor Adriana Kugler unexpectedly resigned. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, was last down 0.16 per cent on the day at 98.16, with the euro up 0.15 per cent at $1.1664. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.21 per cent against the greenback to 147.37 per dollar. Traders are focused this week on whether Powell will push back against market expectations for a rate cut at the Fed's September 16-17 meeting when he speaks at the U.S. central bank's Jackson Hole meeting on Friday, following a weak jobs report for July. Powell has said he is reluctant to cut rates on expectations that Trump's tariff policies will increase inflation this summer. Consumer price inflation data for July showed limited impact from tariffs but hotter than expected producer price inflation has tempered expectations for how many cuts are likely this year. Fed funds futures traders are currently pricing in 85 per cent odds of a cut next month, and 54 basis points of cuts by year-end. Later on Wednesday, the Fed will issue the minutes of its July 29–30 meeting, when it held rates steady, although they may offer limited insight as the meeting came before the weak jobs numbers. The New Zealand dollar dropped 1.04 per cent to $0.5831, a four month low, after the country's central bank cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to a three-year low of 3.00 per cent and flagged further reductions in coming months as policymakers warned of domestic and global headwinds to growth. The Swedish crown strengthened 0.1 per cent to 9.59 after Sweden's central bank held its key interest rate at 2.00 per cent as expected. Sterling weakened 0.07 per cent to $1.3481 after British inflation hit its highest in 18 months in July, but was not seen as swaying Bank of England policy. "The BoE is more concerned about food inflation, which hasn't changed much in today's release," ING's head of research Chris Turner said.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Russia says talks on Ukraine's security without Moscow are a 'road to nowhere'
MOSCOW: Russia said on Wednesday (Aug 20) attempts to resolve security issues relating to Ukraine without Moscow's participation were a "road to nowhere", sounding a warning to the West as it scrambles to work out guarantees for Kyiv's future protection. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov particularly criticised the role of European leaders who met United States President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Monday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine that could help to end the three-and-a-half-year-old war. Lavrov said Russia was in favour of "truly reliable" guarantees for Ukraine and suggested these could be modelled on a draft accord that was discussed between the warring parties in Istanbul in 2022, in the early weeks of the war. At the time, Kyiv rejected that proposal on the grounds that Moscow would have held effective veto power over any military response to come to its aid. "We cannot agree with the fact that now it is proposed to resolve questions of security, collective security, without the Russian Federation. This will not work," Lavrov told a joint news conference after meeting the foreign minister of Jordan. "I am sure that in the West and above all in the United States they understand perfectly well that seriously discussing security issues without the Russian Federation is a utopia, it's a road to nowhere." Lavrov's comments highlighted Moscow's demand for Western governments to directly engage with it on questions of security concerning Ukraine and Europe, something it says they have so far refused to do. Moscow this week also restated its categorical rejection of "any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine". "CLUMSY" EUROPEANS Lavrov accused the European leaders who met Trump and Zelenskyy of carrying out "a fairly aggressive escalation of the situation, rather clumsy and, in general, unethical attempts to change the position of the Trump administration and the president of the United States personally ... We did not hear any constructive ideas from the Europeans there". Trump said on Monday the US would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there. He subsequently said he had ruled out putting US troops on the ground in Ukraine, but the US might provide air support as part of a deal to end the hostilities. Lavrov said the proposals discussed between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in 2022 were a "very good example" of a possible security blueprint, noting that they would also have required Ukraine to become a neutral state and give up its ambition to join NATO. Under the draft discussed then, Ukraine would have received security guarantees from a group of countries including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France. A partially agreed draft said the guarantor states - including Russia - would respect and observe Ukraine's independence and sovereignty and refrain from the threat or use of force against it. Ukraine wanted the guarantors, if it came under attack, to provide assistance that could include "closing airspace over Ukraine, providing necessary weapons, using armed force in order to restore and subsequently maintain the security of Ukraine as a permanently neutral state". But Russia insisted any decision must be agreed by all guarantor states - meaning Moscow would have a veto.
