'TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID': Trump bashes Fed Chair Powell after central bank leaves interest rates unchanged
President Trump escalated his criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell a day after the central bankkept rates on hold, saying in a social media post that Powell is "TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL" to have his job. "He is costing our Country TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS, in addition to one of the most incompetent, or corrupt, renovations of a building(s) in the history of construction! Put another way, 'Too Late' is a TOTAL LOSER, and our Country is paying the price!" The new attack on Thursday morning followed the fifth consecutive meeting where the Fed decided to leave rates unchanged, defying Trump's repeated calls for a cut. Two Fed governors dissented and argued for a quarter percentage point reduction, the first time two Fed governors have done so at a policy meeting since 1993. Read more:How the Fed rate decision affects your bank accounts, loans, credit cards, and investments Powell at a press conference Wednesday did not budge from his view that more time is needed to assess the impact of Trump's tariffs on inflation and the economy, saying that there is still a "a long way to go" to figure that out and "you have to think of this as still quite early days." He also declined to say whether a cut was on the table for the Fed's next meeting in September and made it clear that inflation was still a concern as the Fed balances its dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment. "In the end, there should be no doubt that we will do what we need to do to keep inflation under control." Anew reading on inflationreleased Thursday showed price increases accelerated in June more than expected asinflationremained above the Fed's 2% target. The "core" Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which strips out food and energy costs and is closely watched by the central bank, rose 2.8% on an annual basis, above the 2.7% economists had expected and higher than the 2.7% seen in May. The new PCE reading "will do little to ease the Fed's concerns about tariff-driven inflation," Capital Economics assistant economist Harry Chambers said in a Thursday note. "If these pressures persist, as we expect, a September cut looks unlikely." Traders have narrowed the odds of a cut in September, lowering them to roughly 40%. Trump on Wednesday saidhe does expect a cut at the next meeting, telling reporters before the Wednesday rate hold was announced that "I hear they're going to do it in September." Read more:How much control does the president have over the Fed and interest rates? The decision to keep rates on hold was expected to increase tensions with Trump, who has also in recent weeks been invoking a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed's headquarters as a way to question the chair's management of the institution. Trump played down his displeasure with the Fed chair during a visit to the construction project last week, saying of firing Powell: "To do that is a big move, and I just don't think it's necessary." Asked last Thursday what might lead him to back off the barrage of critiques that Trump has been leveling against Powell for weeks, the president said, "I'd love him to lower interest rates," before patting Powell on the back. But today, Trump turned back to a harsher view of the Fed chair in a new social media post. "Jerome "Too Late" Powell has done it again!!! He is TOO LATE, and actually, TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL, to have the job of Fed Chair." At his press conference Wednesday afternoon, Powell declined to comment in detail on the president's critiques. He said the president's recent visit was an honor and defended central bank independence. He said any rate cuts this fall will depend on "the totality of the evidence" as part of his message that inflation remains above target and that his goal is to ensure that short-term price hikes from tariffs don't become long-term problems. "We're going to be looking at a lot of data" between now and the next meeting, Powell said. "We'll see where that takes us." Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
'TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID': Trump bashes Fed Chair Powell after central bank leaves interest rates unchanged President Trump escalated ...
