The News
Markets rose Wednesday after US President Donald Trump walked back threats to fire the Federal Reserve chair and signaled his trade war may be easing.
The S&P 500 rose 2.5% at the open following similar gains in Europe and Asia, after Trump said he had “no intention” of firing Jerome Powell, and suggested that tariff relief for China was near. Trump has railed against Powell’s policies and is pursuing legal action that could allow him to dismiss him.
However, both Fox Business and the Financial Times cited US officials as saying no deal with Beijing was imminent, while analysts pointed to wild reversals in White House policy just three months into Trump’s term: Two IMF reports this week on the global economy together feature the word “uncertainty” more than 100 times.