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{"text":[[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":null,"text":"Jay Powell says the Fed's independence is under threat from legal assaults
"}],[{"start":12.15,"text":"Jay Powell has vowed to continue as a Federal Reserve governor as he used his last meeting as the central bank’s chair to issue his most strident rebuke of Donald Trump’s attacks on the institution."}],[{"start":23.35,"text":"The Fed chief warned in a press conference on Wednesday that the central bank is being “battered” by the Trump administration’s repeated “legal assaults” on the world’s most important central bank. He said there were “widespread concerns” among officials that the blitz would continue. "}],[{"start":42.150000000000006,"text":"“I think it’s at risk,” Powell said when asked about whether Fed independence is as strong now as when he became chair in 2018, adding that the central bank was having to “resort to the courts” in an attempt to push back against Trump’s government. "}],[{"start":57.2,"text":"Powell vowed to remain in the lesser role of governor “for a period of time” after his term as chair draws to a close in mid-May, breaking with decades of precedent in which the central bank chief resigns after their term ends. "}],[{"start":69.75,"text":"It came hours after the Senate banking committee voted in favour of the appointment of Kevin Warsh, Trump’s Fed chair nominee. Warsh is now widely expected to secure the approval of the Republican-controlled Senate by the time Powell’s chair term ends. "}],[{"start":86.75,"text":"While Powell promised to keep a “low profile” as a governor, he said he planned to continue on the board until there is a resolution to the Department of Justice’s criminal probe into him over a renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. Powell has called the probe a “pretext” for forcing the central bank to bow to the president’s will and slash borrowing costs. "}],[{"start":107.75,"text":"Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary, hit out at Powell over his decision to remain on the Fed board: “It is unusual for soon-to-be-former Fed chair Jay Powell to stay on at the [Federal Reserve]. For someone who speaks so often of norms, his unilateral decision to stay flies in the face of tradition,” he wrote in a post on X. "}],[{"start":126.45,"text":"Trump has also attempted to fire Lisa Cook, over allegations that the Fed governor committed mortgage fraud. Cook, who has denied the allegations, has been allowed to remain at the Fed by the Supreme Court, while it decides on her case against the US president. "}],[{"start":142.1,"text":"Thomas Ryan, economist at Capital Economics, said the rate decision was “overshadowed” by Powell’s promise to remain at the Fed — a move which will also force Stephen Miran, the Fed governor and Trump ally who has consistently voted for rate cuts, out. Warsh is expected to take Miran’s seat. "}],[{"start":157.65,"text":"Powell’s term as a governor extends to January 2028. "}],[{"start":161.9,"text":"The DoJ last week said it would end the investigation after a Republican lawmaker threatened to hold Warsh’s nomination if the probe was not dropped. But Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney leading the proceedings, said she was prepared to reopen the investigation pending a review by the Fed’s inspector general. "}],[{"start":179.70000000000002,"text":"The unusually pointed closing salvo from the Fed chief came after a meeting that laid bare deep divides on the central bank’s board. "}],[{"start":188.05,"text":"The Fed held rates steady for the third time in a row, but the decision drew four dissents, the most since 1992, as policymakers grappled with the surge in energy prices rippling across the economy. "}],[{"start":201.25,"text":"Brent crude, the international benchmark, exceeded $120 a barrel for the first time since 2022 on Wednesday as the stand-off between the US and Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz persisted. Petrol prices have also increased markedly, threatening a new bout of inflation. "}],[{"start":221.3,"text":"“Inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices,” the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said as it voted to keep in place the benchmark federal funds rate in a 3.5-3.75 per cent range."}],[{"start":235.35000000000002,"text":"Three regional Fed presidents said that while they backed the decision to keep rates on hold, they did not support a line in the statement that signals the US central bank has a bias towards lowering borrowing costs at future policy votes."}],[{"start":249.05,"text":"The three dissenters were the Cleveland Fed’s Beth Hammack, Minneapolis’ Neel Kashkari and Lorie Logan of the Dallas Fed."}],[{"start":257.05,"text":"Miran continued to support a quarter-point rate cut, marking the first time four officials have dissented since October 1992."}],[{"start":264.8,"text":"Treasury yields rose as traders pulled back bets on interest rate cuts after the three Fed voters voiced dissent over the central bank’s bias towards easing monetary policy."}],[{"start":275.40000000000003,"text":"The two-year Treasury yield, which moves with interest rate expectations, rose to its highest level in a month, leaving it up 0.1 percentage points at 3.93 per cent on Wednesday. The benchmark 10-year yield was up 0.07 percentage points at 4.42 per cent."}],[{"start":293.50000000000006,"text":"Eric Winograd, director of developed market economic research, AllianceBernstein, said the dissents were “a strong signal to Warsh that they are not going to vote to cut interest rates anytime soon.”"}],[{"start":313.45000000000005,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777524681_9187.mp3"}