Every time Trump dares the Fed?
It’s gonna do the opposite….
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates for the fourth time this year despite protests from President Trump.
The Fed’s policy-making arm, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), voted Wednesday to raise the baseline interest rate range from 2.25 to 2.5 percent, a 0.25 percentage point increase.
The central bank had been telegraphing a December rate hike for several months, and Wednesday’s move had been widely expected by Fed watchers.
But the move comes in the face of intensifying attacks from Trump on the bank and its chairman, Jerome Powell, for raising rates amid new questions about the American economy.
Trump has urged the independent central bank to keep cheap money flowing into the strong economy. The president begged the Fed Tuesday to consider a steep stock sell-off on Wall Street and to halt their rate hikes.
“Feel the market, don’t just go by meaningless numbers,” Trump said in a tweet. “Good luck!”
Powell, who was sworn in February of this year, is looking to reassure the public and policymakers that the Fed has control over the economy after a volatile year.
While the economy is strong, Powell is also dealing with a falling stock market and economic watchers bracing for a potential slowdown in 2019….