The News
The dollar weakened and US stocks fell as traders returning after the Easter weekend digested renewed reports that President Donald Trump wants to fire the chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.
“The market doesn’t like the Fed’s independence being challenged,” a trading expert told Bloomberg.
Trump, who again attacked Powell on social media Monday, is studying whether such a dismissal is possible, the head of the National Economic Council said, helping drive gold to a new record as well.
The president’s persistent frustration with the central banker has raised questions over future monetary policy — Trump wants interest rates lowered — and the independence of the Fed itself.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court may soon consider a major legal case over dismissals of officials at other independent agencies that could make it easier to fire Powell.
