Banks

BRITAIN’S banks are giving away free cash payments of up to £200 each – and customers need to do one thing to be eligible to claim the money.

The extraordinary deals are being offered by major UK banks such as Lloyds and NatWest as part of the fight to boost customer numbers.

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Nationwide is also among the list of banking giants handing out the free cash payments for changing bank accounts.

The deals are part of switching incentives, and also come with extra perks like cashback and savings rates well above the average.

Nationwide Building Society

The first bank on the list is giving out a handsome sum of £175 to customers who complete a full switch through the Current Account Switch Service (CASS).

Those joining can pick from three accounts: FlexPlus, FlexFirect or FlexAccount.

The FlexDirect account offers 5 per cent AER interest on balances up to £1,500 for the first 12 months.

It also offers 1 per cent cashback on debit card spending with a maximum of £5 per month.

Combining this with the switching bonus, cashback and interest, smart savers could horde up to £400 in free payments in the first year of joining.

Nationwide’s Director of Group Retail Products Tom Riley said: “It’s never been more rewarding to be a Nationwide member and that’s why we want to help more people benefit by offering this switching offer.”

The building society consistently ranks top for customer service and has already attracted over a million new customers through CASS since 2013.

Lloyds Bank

For a £200 free cash payment, Lloyds Bank is giving away bonuses to customers who make a switch.

People who move their existing account to a Club Lloyds or Lloyds Premier account can get the free cash.

But the payment comes on condition they set up three or more direct debits.

Lloyds Bank is one of the UK’s largest financial services organisations and serves tens of millions of Brits.

NatWest

For account holders switching with NatWest, customers can get up to £175 on one condition.

Those choosing a Select or Reward account can get the free cash.

But they must pay in £1,250 first.

And customers also need to login to the mobile app within 60 days.

Other major banks

RBS, part of NatWest Group, is also offering £175 for switching to a Select or Reward account, as long as they pay £1,250 and login to the app in 60 days.

First Direct is offering £175 for switching to its popular 1st Account.

Customers must pay in £1,000 minimum, set up two direct debits or standing orders, and make five debit card payments within 45 days.

The Co-operative Bank’s switch deal stands at £100, with customers able to make another £75.

Customers need to meet the same requirements as First Direct switchers over the next three months.

What energy bill help is available?

There’s a number of different ways to get help paying your energy bills if you’re struggling to get by.

If you fall into debt, you can always approach your supplier to see if they can put you on a repayment plan before putting you on a prepayment meter.

This involves paying off what you owe in instalments over a set period.

If your supplier offers you a repayment plan you don’t think you can afford, speak to them again to see if you can negotiate a better deal.

Several energy firms have schemes available to customers struggling to cover their bills.

But eligibility criteria vary depending on the supplier and the amount you can get depends on your financial circumstances.

For example, British Gas or Scottish Gas customers struggling to pay their energy bills can get grants worth up to £2,000.

British Gas also offers help via its British Gas Energy Trust and Individuals Family Fund.

You don’t need to be a British Gas customer to apply for the second fund.

EDF, E.ON, Octopus Energy and Scottish Power all offer grants to struggling customers too.

Thousands of vulnerable households are missing out on extra help and protections by not signing up to the Priority Services Register (PSR).

The service helps support vulnerable households, such as those who are elderly or ill.

Some of the perks include being given advance warning of blackouts, free gas safety checks and extra support if you’re struggling.

Get in touch with your energy firm to see if you can apply.

Financial expert Kate Steere said Nationwide’s package may be the best in value over 12 months, factoring in interest and cashback.

She said: “If you max out the savings and cashback alongside the switching bonus, you could be looking at nearly £400 in your first year.”

Lloyds is offering the highest single payout though, standing at £200 upfront.

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The report comes as the White House pushes to fire fed governor Lisa Cook for a similar reason.

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent agreed to occupy two different houses at the same time as his “principal residence”, an agreement similar to the one US President Donald Trump has called mortgage fraud in his effort to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

The story, first reported by the Bloomberg news service on Wednesday, cites Bessent’s mortgages with lender Bank of America and his pledge in 2007 to primarily occupy homes in New York and Massachusetts.

Mortgage experts told Bloomberg there was no sign of wrongdoing or proof of fraud in Bessent’s home-loan filings and said the issue highlights incongruities found in such documents.

Bank of America did not rely on Bessent’s pledges and never expected him to occupy both homes as his primary residences, Bloomberg reported, citing the mortgage documents.

Representatives for Bessent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Republican president, who appointed Bessent to the Treasury post, and members of his administration have accused Cook, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, of committing mortgage fraud, a claim Cook denies.

The White House did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

Comparable to Cook

Congress included provisions in the 1913 law that created the Fed to shield the central bank from political interference. Under that law, Fed governors may be removed by a president only “for cause”, though the law does not define the term nor establish procedures for removal. No president has ever removed a Fed governor, and the law has never been tested in court.

Trump has sought to remove Cook for cause, citing the alleged fraud. A US appeals court on Monday declined to allow Trump to fire her. The White House has said it will appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.

Trump’s Department of Justice also has launched a criminal mortgage fraud probe into Cook, issuing grand jury subpoenas in Georgia and Michigan, the news agency Reuters previously reported.

A loan estimate for an Atlanta home bought by Cook showed that she had declared the property as a “vacation home”, according to a document reviewed by Reuters. The property tax authority in Ann Arbor, Michigan, also said Cook had not broken rules for tax breaks on a home there that had been declared her primary residence.

Bloomberg, in its report on Wednesday, pointed to similar but not identical pledges made by a lawyer on Bessent’s behalf on September 20, 2007, agreeing to make a Bedford Hills, New York, house his “principal residence” over the next year, as well as another house in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

“There are people who think that President Trump is putting undue pressure on the Fed. And there are people like President Trump and myself who think that if a Fed official committed mortgage fraud, that this should be examined, and that they shouldn’t be serving as one of the nation’s leading financial regulators,” Bessent told Fox Business Network in an August 27 interview.

Bessent is not the only one. Close relatives of Bill Pulte – who was appointed by Trump as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and is the official who has accused Cook of mortgage fraud – have declared the same status on two homes in two different states, public records show.

Mark and Julie Pulte, the father and stepmother have claimed so-called “homestead exemptions” for residences in wealthy neighbourhoods in both Michigan and Florida, Reuters reported earlier, citing public records.

The exemption is meant to give a discount to homeowners on taxes for properties they use as their primary residence.

Palestinians face mass arrests, displacement in the occupied territory as Netanyahu pushes settlement expansion.

Israeli forces have sealed off entrances to Tulkarem in the northern occupied West Bank, further escalating a campaign of raids, arrests and collective punishment that has displaced thousands of Palestinians as the military relentlessly destroys Gaza.

Footage from Thursday night shared by residents showed soldiers marching Palestinians in lines through the streets in what many described as a humiliating show of force.

Tulkarem Governor Abdullah Kamil appealed to the international community on Friday, urging the United Nations General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and humanitarian groups to act against what he called “crimes” being committed against the city’s nearly 100,000 residents.

Kamil said Israeli forces were “arbitrarily and unjustly” carrying out mass arrests, storming homes, destroying property and “terrorising children and women”, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

On Thursday, Israeli forces in Tulkarem were allegedly struck by what Israel called an explosive device that injured two Israeli soldiers.

Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Doha, described “videos of the Israeli forces dragging hundreds and hundreds of Palestinians from their homes, from their cafes, from even a garage … in a show of humiliation”.

“They’re trying to remind everyone that if there is any incident in any place in the occupied West Bank that they do not like … they’re going to crack down, not just on the perpetrators … but on everyone in that vicinity,” said Ibrahim.

She added that Israel’s crackdown has displaced “tens of thousands of Palestinians out of their homes … rendering the city, the refugee camps into ghost towns”. Ibrahim said Palestinians see this as part of a broader policy, with Israeli forces trying “to crack down on Palestinians and really … remind them who has the upper hand and control in the occupied West Bank”.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, five young Palestinians were shot and wounded by Israeli forces in the village of Deir Jarir, Wafa reported. One of the injured was arrested before receiving medical treatment, according to the village council. Israeli soldiers also closed the village entrance for several hours.

Israeli troops stormed Nablus and the nearby town of Beit Furik at dawn on Friday, raiding several neighbourhoods in the Old City and surrounding areas.

Witnesses said shops were ransacked, while in Beitin, east of Ramallah, Israeli soldiers seized a house and converted it into a military barracks.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the raids, saying international silence had emboldened Israel to press ahead with unilateral measures aimed at destabilising the territory.

‘There will be no Palestinian state’

The escalation comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advances an illegal settlement expansion plan that would all but eliminate the possibility of a Palestinian state.

On Thursday, he signed an agreement to push forward with construction in the so-called E1 area near the illegal Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, several kilometres to the east of Jerusalem.

“We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state. This place belongs to us,” Netanyahu declared at the signing ceremony, adding: “We are going to double the city’s population.”

The project, which has been driven by far-right ministers in the government, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, covers a 12sq km (4.6sq mile) stretch of land and foresees 3,400 new homes for Israeli settlers. Critics say the plan would cut off large parts of the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem while linking together major settlement blocs.

Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Under international law, all Israeli settlements in occupied territory are illegal, regardless of whether they have Israeli government approval.

The request comes after a federal court earlier this week blocked Lisa Cook’s firing while her lawsuit challenging her dismissal moves forward.

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates.

The request on Thursday represents an extraordinary effort by the White House to shape the board before the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee meets next week on Tuesday and Wednesday.

At the same time, Senate Republicans are pushing to confirm Stephen Miran, Trump’s nominee to an open spot on the Fed’s board, which could happen as soon as Monday.

In a court filing on Thursday, the Department of Justice asked the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to pause US District Judge Jia Cobb’s Tuesday ruling temporarily blocking Cook’s removal, pending the administration’s appeal.

Trump moved to fire Cook in late August. Cook, who denies any wrongdoing, filed a lawsuit saying Trump’s claim that she engaged in mortgage fraud before she joined the central bank did not give him legal authority to remove her, and was a pretext to fire her for her monetary policy stance.

Cobb’s ruling prevents the Fed from following through on Cook’s firing while her lawsuit moves forward.

In their emergency appeal, Trump’s lawyers argued that even if the conduct occurred before her time as governor, her alleged action “indisputably calls into question Cook’s trustworthiness and whether she can be a responsible steward of the interest rates and economy”.

The administration asked an appeals court to issue an emergency decision reversing the lower court by Monday. If their appeal is successful, Cook would be removed from the Fed’s board until her case is ultimately resolved in the courts, and she would miss next week’s meeting.

If the appeals court rules in Cook’s favour, the administration could seek an emergency ruling from the Supreme Court.

The case, which will likely end up before the US Supreme Court, has ramifications for the Fed’s ability to set interest rates without regard to politicians’ wishes, widely seen as critical to any central bank’s ability to keep inflation under control.

The Supreme Court and lower appeals courts, including the DC Circuit, have temporarily lifted several other rulings that briefly blocked Trump from firing officials at agencies that have historically been independent from the White House.

On Wednesday, however, the DC Circuit blocked Trump from firing US Copyright Office director Shira Perlmutter while she appeals a lower court’s refusal to reinstate her to the post.

Trump has demanded that the Fed cut rates immediately and aggressively, repeatedly berating Fed Chair Jerome Powell for his stewardship over monetary policy. Cook has voted with the Fed’s majority on every rate decision since she started in 2022, including on both rate hikes and rate cuts.

Fed’s independence

The law that created the Fed says governors may be removed only “for cause”, but does not define the term nor establish procedures for removal. No president has ever removed a Fed governor, and the law has never been tested in court.

Cobb on Tuesday said the public’s interest in the Fed’s independence from political coercion weighed in favour of keeping Cook at the Fed while the case continues.

She said that the best reading of the law is that a Fed governor may only be removed for misconduct while in office. The mortgage fraud claims against Cook all relate to actions she took prior to her US Senate confirmation in 2022.

Trump and William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director appointed by the president, say Cook inaccurately described three separate properties on mortgage applications, which could have allowed her to obtain lower interest rates and tax credits.

The Justice Department has also launched a criminal mortgage fraud probe into Cook and has issued grand jury subpoenas out of both Georgia and Michigan, according to documents seen by Reuters and a source familiar with the matter.

Argentina’s markets have tumbled, with the peso currency at a historic low, after a heavy defeat for President Javier Milei’s party at the hands of the Peronist opposition at local elections stoked worries about the government’s ability to implement its economic reform agenda.

On Monday, the peso was last down almost 5 percent against the US dollar at 1,434 per greenback while the benchmark stock index fell 10.5 percent, and an index of Argentine stocks traded on United States exchanges lost more than 15 percent. Some of the country’s international bonds saw their biggest falls since they began trading in 2020 after a $65bn restructuring deal.

The resounding victory for the Peronists signalled a tough battle for Milei in national midterm elections on October 26, when his party is aiming to secure enough seats to avoid overrides to presidential vetoes.

The government now faces the difficult choice of whether to allow the peso to depreciate ahead of next month’s midterms or spend its foreign exchange reserves to intervene in the FX market, according to Pramol Dhawan, head of EM portfolio management at Pimco.

“Opting for intervention would likely prove counterproductive, as it risks derailing the IMF programme and diminishing the country’s prospects for future market access to refinance external debt,” Dhawan said via email, referring to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “The more resources the government allocates to defending the currency, the fewer will be available to meet obligations to bondholders — thereby increasing the risk of default.”

He said early indications that the government may double down on the current strategy “would be a strategic misstep”.

The 13-point gap in the Buenos Aires Province (PBA) election in favour of the opposition Peronists was much wider than polls anticipated and what the market had priced in. The government setback at the polls adds to recent headwinds for a market that had until recently outperformed its Latin American peers.

“We had our reservations about the market being too complacent regarding the Buenos Aires election results. The foreign exchange market will undoubtedly be under the spotlight, as any instability there can have a ripple effect on Argentine assets,” said Shamaila Khan, head of fixed income for emerging markets and Asia Pacific at UBS, in response to emailed questions.

“However, it’s important to note that simply using reserves to prop up the currency isn’t likely to provide much reassurance to the market,” she added. “The midterm elections, in my opinion, carry more weight and their outcome will significantly influence how Argentine assets perform in the coming months.”

The bond market selloff saw the country’s 2035 issue fall 6.25 cents, on track for its largest daily drop since its post-restructuring issuance in 2020.

Based on official counts, the Peronists won 47.3 percent of the vote across the province, while the candidate of Milei’s party took 33.7 percent, with 99.98 percent of the votes counted.

Argentina – one of the big reform stories across emerging markets since Milei became president in December 2023 – has seen its markets come under heavy pressure over the last month following a corruption scandal involving Milei’s sister and political gatekeeper Karina Milei where she has been accused of accepting bribes for government contracts..

The government defeat also comes after the IMF approved a $20bn programme in April, of which some $15bn has already been disbursed. The IMF has eagerly backed the reform programme of Milei’s government to the point that its director, Kristalina Georgieva, had to clarify remarks earlier this year in which she invited Argentines to stay the course with the reforms.

The IMF did not respond to questions on whether this vote result would change its relationship with the Milei administration or alter the programme.

Market selloff

Argentina’s main equity index has dropped around 20 percent since the government corruption scandal broke, its international government bonds have sold off, and pressure on the recently unpegged peso has forced authorities to start intervening in the FX market.

“The result was much worse than the market expected – Milei took quite a big beating, so now he has to come up with something,” said Viktor Szabo, portfolio manager at Aberdeen Investments.

Morgan Stanley had warned in the run-up to the vote that the international bonds could fall up to 10 points if a Milei drubbing dented his agenda for radical reform. On Monday, the outcome saw the bank pull its ‘like’ stance on the bonds.

Barclays analyst Ivan Stambulsky pointed to comments from Economy Minister Luis Caputo on Sunday that the country’s FX regime won’t change.

“We’re likely to see strong pressure on the FX and declining reserves as the Ministry of Economy intervenes,” Stambulsky said. “If FX sales persist, markets will likely start wondering what will happen if the economic team is forced to let the currency depreciate before the October mid-terms.”

Some analysts, however, predicted other parts of the country were unlikely to vote as strongly against Milei as in Buenos Aires province given it is a traditional Peronist stronghold.

They also expected the Milei government to stick to its programme of fiscal discipline despite economic woes.

“The Province of Buenos Aires midterm election delivered a very negative result for the Milei administration, casting doubt on its ability to deliver a positive outcome in October’s national vote and risking the reform agenda in the second half of the term,” said JPMorgan in a Sunday client note.

“The policy mix adopted in the coming days and weeks to address elevated political risk will be pivotal in shaping medium-term inflation expectations — and, ultimately, the success of the stabilisation programme.”

For more than a year, savers have enjoyed a gift: easy access to 4.00%+ APYs on high-yield savings accounts. But that window is starting to close. With the Fed likely to cut rates later this month, banks are already preparing to dial back those generous payouts.

If you’ve been waiting to move your money, now’s the moment. But banks with the highest APYs now are likely to still have the highest APYs after rates start to drop. Here are three of the best options.

Published on
02/09/2025 – 13:52 GMT+2

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Gold jumped to a record $3,508.50 (€3,015.08) an ounce on Tuesday, fuelled by expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut and mounting uncertainty for investors.

The precious metal is seen as a haven for investors, with demand for it surging when trust in the stability of paper currencies or financial markets dips.

Earlier this year, gold prices surged when US President Donald Trump announced a raft of controversial tariffs against other countries.

Gold’s record-high value underscores deep unease over the global outlook and questions about the Fed’s independence as US President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on policymakers.

Dollar is no longer the ‘gold standard’

The rise in gold prices has come as part of a multiyear rally for precious metals.

Central banks from Asia to the Middle East have been accelerating their purchases for the fourth year in a row, adding a powerful tailwind to prices, with predictions being that at least 1,000 metric tonnes of gold will be purchased by governments for their gold reserves.

The move reveals a decreasing reliance on the US dollar at a time when Washington’s fiscal trajectory and political battles are clouding its standing as the world’s reserve currency.

A survey of 73 central banks conducted by the World Gold Council revealed that 95% of them are expected to increase their gold holdings over the next 12 months, while nearly three-quarters of them are anticipated to shrink their dollar reserves.

China, who is still locked in negotiations with the US over a more favourable trade deal, has been accumulating gold on a monthly basis, recording its ninth straight month of purchases in July.

De-dollarisation will hurt the world’s most reliable currency

For much of modern history, most national currencies were tied directly to gold — namely, governments guaranteed that paper money could be exchanged for a fixed weight of gold they had stored in their reserves.

Everyday transactions were carried out with paper money because it was far simpler than calculating gold values or carrying bullion, while governments backed those notes with gold held securely in their vaults.

After World War II, dozens of Allied nations gathered in Bretton Woods in New Hampshire to host the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference.

They decided to create the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and established a system where the US dollar was pegged to gold at $35 an ounce.

In other words, one dollar represented 1/35th of an ounce. At the time, this peg gave the dollar unmatched credibility because the US then held most of the world’s gold reserves.

It provided stability for global trade and investment for about 27 years, until the US abandoned the gold peg in 1971, collapsing the Bretton Woods system.

Ghosts of Bretton Woods

Bretton Woods collapsed in 1971 when the US deficit and inflation drained gold reserves, making the $35 peg unsustainable.

President Richard Nixon ended dollar convertibility at the time, forcing currencies to float freely.

Once currencies began floating after Bretton Woods, foreign exchange or Forex markets became the arena where their values were set.

Instead of governments guaranteeing fixed rates, traders, banks and central banks now buy and sell currencies against one another, with prices at times shifting by the second.

Now, US policies are once again influencing the gold-buying habits of central banks, and it is particularly symbolic that gold has surged past $3,500 an ounce — an increase of more than 10,000% from the $35 peg set under Bretton Woods after World War II.

Convenience is now the default

Remember when “online banking” felt weird and scary? Those days are gone. Mobile apps from top online banks are easy to use and packed with features. Remote check deposit, instant transfers, bill pay — it’s all there.

Most of us already bank online anyway. Whether you’re with Chase or Ally, you’re using your phone more than you’re walking into a branch. So why settle for low rates when the online-only banks are just as easy to use?

Safety and peace of mind

Online banks don’t have a building you can walk into, but deposits at FDIC-insured online banks are just as safe as those at your neighborhood branch. Up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per account ownership category — it’s the same rule everywhere.

Add in two-factor authentication and advanced security features, and your money is likely no less safe online than it is in a brick building down the street.

Why this shift matters now

Online banks aren’t just a niche option anymore; they’ve changed how saving works for everyone. They’ve raised the bar on what customers expect, and if your money isn’t keeping up, you’re losing out.

If you’re still tied to a branch account, ask yourself what you’re really getting for that trade-off. Because the difference between $10 and $5,200 in interest is the kind of thing that can cover a vacation, pay down debt faster, or pad your retirement account.

You can compare the best high-yield savings accounts here and see which ones fit your needs. It takes minutes to switch, but the payoff could last for years.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has filed a lawsuit arguing that United States President Donald Trump has no power to remove her from office, setting up a legal battle that could reset long-established norms between the president and the central bank.

The lawsuit was filed on Thursday, three days after Trump published a letter saying Cook was removed from her job.

In the lawsuit, Cook argues that Trump violated federal law in attempting to remove her from her position. Under the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, presidents may only remove a Federal Reserve governor “for cause”, a high bar generally understood to mean grave misconduct or dereliction of duty.

As the country’s central banking system, the Federal Reserve is considered independent from political branches of government like the presidency or Congress. In theory, that allows it to set monetary policy without political influence.

But concerns about whether the Fed can maintain its independence from the White House under Trump could have a ripple effect throughout the global economy. The US dollar stumbled against other major currencies after Trump first said he would remove Cook.

“President Trump’s attempt to fire Dr Lisa Cook is continuing to add uncertainty and chaos to the US economy,” Sameera Fazili, the former deputy director of the National Economic Council, told Al Jazeera.

Fazili, who previously served as a staff member at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, explained that disruptions at the central bank would negatively impact US businesses.

“An economy needs stable and predictable laws to function smoothly. That’s how you earn investor trust and raise capital for your businesses,” she said, adding: “I applaud Dr Cook for standing up and fighting for the rule of law.”

Cook’s lawsuit is likely headed to the Supreme Court, where a conservative majority has at least tentatively allowed Trump to fire officials from other agencies.

But the court recently signalled that the Federal Reserve may qualify for a rare exception.

In its May decision in the case Trump v Wilcox, the Supreme Court argued that Federal Reserve governors are distinct from other federal employees, because the bank “is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States”.

Mortgage allegations

Still, Trump, a Republican president, has argued that he does have cause to remove Cook from her post.

In his August 25 letter, he accused Cook of committing mortgage fraud in 2021, a year before she joined the Federal Reserve’s governing body.

“The American people must be able to have full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve,” he wrote.

“In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot and I do not have such confidence in your integrity.”

The Federal Reserve Act does not define what removal “for cause” means, nor does it lay out any standard or procedures for removal.

Trump, however, has argued that Cook’s actions amount to “gross negligence”, though she has denied the allegations.

No president has ever removed a Federal Reserve board member, and the legal standard governing removals from the central bank has never been tested in court.

A Federal Reserve spokesperson said on Tuesday, before the lawsuit was filed, that the bank would abide by any court decision.

Cook was appointed to the Federal Reserve in 2022 by former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and is the first Black woman to serve on the central bank’s governing body.

Questions about Cook’s mortgages were first raised in August by William Pulte, a Trump appointee who is the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Pulte referred the matter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi for investigation.

Cook took out the mortgages in Michigan and Georgia in 2021 when she was an academic, researching and teaching economics.

An official financial disclosure form for 2024 lists three mortgages held by Cook, with two listed as personal residences. Loans for primary residences can carry lower rates than mortgages on investment properties, which are considered riskier by banks.

Some experts have questioned whether transactions that preceded Cook’s appointment to the Federal Reserve would be adequate cause to remove her. After all, Cook’s mortgages were in the public record when she was vetted and confirmed by the Senate in 2022.

Trump has made several allegations of mortgage fraud against perceived political adversaries, including Senator Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats.

Like Cook, Schiff and James have denied wrongdoing.

Pushing for influence on the Federal Reserve

For her part, Cook said in a statement earlier this week that “no causes exist under the law, and [Trump] has no authority” to remove her from her job.

Her lawyers have also said that Trump’s “demands lack any proper process, basis or legal authority”.

Since Trump took office for a second term in January, critics have accused him of seeking broad powers beyond the presidency, across all branches of government.

He has sought to remove inspectors general and the heads of independent agencies he felt were unfriendly to his policies, despite federal laws that protect their employment.

Such laws require the president to clearly define the cause for removing federal employees. Those causes include neglect of duty, malfeasance, and inefficiency.

While the Federal Reserve Act does not identify those causes in its terms, they could be used as a guide for courts to determine if Trump can legally fire Cook.

In Thursday’s lawsuit, Cook’s lawyers said nothing she has done would amount to such “cause”.

“Neither the type of ‘offense’ the President cited nor the threadbare evidence against Governor Cook would constitute ‘cause’ for removal even if the President’s allegations were true – which they are not,” they wrote.

“The President would not have ‘cause’ to remove a Federal Reserve Governor even if he possessed smoking gun evidence that she jaywalked in college.”

The lawsuit also argues that the president violated Cook’s right to due process by attempting to terminate her position without notice.

Trump has faced other lawsuits for attempting to remove federal officials, including in the Trump v Wilcox case.

That case concerned Gwynne Wilcox, the first Black woman to sit on the National Labor Relations Board, which hears private-sector labour disputes.

Cook’s departure from the Federal Reserve, however, would allow Trump to name his fourth pick to the bank’s seven-member board.

The president has repeatedly berated Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates and for his alleged mishandling of a multibillion-dollar renovation project.

While Trump has previously threatened to remove Powell before his term ends in May, he has since backed away from those remarks.

A full term for a Federal Reserve governor like Cook, meanwhile, is 14 years.

Cook, who has been accused of mortgage fraud, has said she will not be bullied by Trump into resigning.

The United States Department of Justice plans to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, with a top official informing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of the probe and encouraging him to remove her, Bloomberg News has reported.

A letter to Powell from Ed Martin, a Department of Justice (DOJ) official who has led similar investigations into Senator Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James, said Cook’s case “requires further examination”, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

“At this time, I encourage you to remove Ms Cook from your Board,” Martin wrote, according to Bloomberg. “Do it today before it is too late! After all, no American thinks it is appropriate that she serve during this time with a cloud hanging over her.”

The DOJ did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Asked about the report, a Fed spokesperson referred to Cook’s statement on Wednesday, when she said she had no intention of being “bullied” into resigning after President Donald Trump called for her to step down on the basis of allegations made by a member of his administration about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia.

The Federal Reserve Act provides no authority for a Fed chair to remove another member of the Board of Governors.

Cook, the first Black woman to be a Fed governor, is serving a 14-year term that began after her second Senate confirmation in 2023.

The effort to remove Cook comes as the administration has unleashed a campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and intensifies Trump’s ongoing effort to gain influence over the US central bank and push it to lower interest rates.

Fed under pressure

Central bankers from around the world gathered on Thursday in Grand Teton National Park for the opening of the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium, where Powell will give a keynote speech on Friday, sketching out his view of the economy and, investors hope, where rates are headed.

“I would just say that I know her to be an outstanding economist and a person of high integrity,” Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack told Yahoo Finance at the event.

US Federal Housing Finance Agency director William Pulte, who referred the allegations of Cook’s wrongdoing to the Department of Justice this week, said they arose as part of regular investigations into mortgage fraud by his agency and were not a “witch-hunt”.

“Defrauding people is nothing new,” Pulte told Bloomberg Television. “I believe that she committed mortgage fraud.”  He said that public records clearly show fraud and that a special exemption should not be made for the powerful. He said the fraud is “self-evident”.

Cook has yet to expressly address Pulte’s accusation, saying only in Wednesday’s statement: “I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve, and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”

The Fed has held borrowing costs steady all year in the 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent range out of concern that Trump’s tariffs could reignite inflation that is still running above the Fed’s 2 percent goal. Recent weaker labour market data – including a report showing job gains averaged a paltry 35,000 from May to July – has increased Fed policymaker concern that borrowing costs may be a bit too high, and financial markets are priced for the likelihood of a quarter-point interest-rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting.

That would be far short of the several percentage points that Trump has called for.

Trump can name a new chair when Powell’s term ends in May. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the search, has nearly a dozen candidates, and all have voiced their support for big rate cuts and big changes to the central bank. Traditionally, Fed chairs resign when their leadership term ends, but there is some speculation that Powell would stay on until his term as governor ends in 2028, denying Trump the chance to install more loyalists to consolidate his control over the central bank.

Trump has nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran, a Fed critic and enthusiastic supporter of Trump’s tariffs and other policies, to serve at the Fed in the seat vacated by the surprise resignation this month of Adriana Kugler.

Aug. 20 (UPI) — The outer bands of Hurricane Erin neared North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Wednesday evening, prompting the National Hurricane Center to issue warnings against swimming at most East Coast beaches.

The Category 2 storm, described as “large” by the NHC, had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, just shy of a Category 3 hurricane. The eye of the storm was located about 490 miles west of Bermuda and 245 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and was moving north at 14 mph, according to the NHC’s 8 p.m. update.

A storm surge warning was in effect for from Cape Lookout to Duck, N.C., while a tropical storm warning was in effect for Beaufort Inlet, N.C., to Chincoteague, Va., including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.

Bermuda was under a tropical storm watch.

“Erin is expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents along the beaches of the Bahamas, much of the east coast of the U.S., Bermuda and Atlantic Canada during the next several days,” the NHC said. “Beachgoers in those areas should follow advice from lifeguards, local authorities and beach warning flags.”

Forecasters warned weather conditions were expected to deteriorate along the Outer Banks late Wednesday into Thursday. Storm surge and large waves could cause beach erosion and make some roads impassible.

Tropical storm conditions were expected to reach the Virginia coast Thursday and farther north through early Friday.

The season’s first Atlantic hurricane reached Category 5 status Saturday morning, the highest classification, after rapidly intensifying overnight Friday, when it became a Category 1 hurricane, the year’s fifth named storm.

Erin dropped to a Category 4 and then a 3 overnight into Sunday, but regained Category 4 strength late Sunday before again losing strength.

Erin became the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic storm season Friday morning.

There have been four named storms so far this season in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Chantal caused major flooding in North Carolina but has been the only one of the four to make landfall in the United States this year.

The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30. The peak hurricane season runs from mid-August through September and into mid-October.

Ninety-three percent of hurricane landfalls along the U.S. Gulf Coast and the East Coast have occurred from August through October, the Weather Channel reported, citing data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Last year at this time, there had also been five named storms.

The resignation calls intensify Trump’s attempts to yield influence over the central bank.

United States President Donald Trump has called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign, intensifying his effort to gain influence over the central bank on the basis of allegations made by one of his allies about mortgages Cook holds in Michigan and Georgia.

US Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte alleged in a post on X earlier on Wednesday that Cook had designated a condo in Atlanta as her primary residence after taking a loan on her home in Michigan, which she also declared as a primary residence.

Loans for a primary residence can carry easier terms than for second homes or investment properties. Pulte said the loans date to mid-2021, before Cook was appointed to the Fed by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate the following year. She is a native of Georgia and, at the time, was an economics professor at Michigan State University.

Pulte asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate, and Trump quickly amplified the allegation. The Department of Justice was taking the matter very seriously, a department official told Reuters.

“We’re also probing some property that she has in Massachusetts to see if there’s something there. But I don’t have anything yet on that,” Pulte said in an interview on CNBC.

Cook’s federally filed financial disclosure documents show three mortgages taken out in 2021, including a 15-year 2.5 percent loan on an investment property and two loans for personal residences, including a 30-year 3.25 percent mortgage and a 15-year 2.875 percent mortgage. The weekly average rate for 30-year loans during 2021 ranged between 2.9 percent and 3.3 percent, Mortgage Bankers Association data shows. Cook started at the Fed in 2022 and was reappointed to a 14-year term in 2023.

Spokespersons for the Fed and for Cook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Cook must resign, now!!!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, his latest remarks aimed at reshaping the makeup of the US central bank, a body designed to set benchmark interest rates independent of White House influence.

Trump has told aides he is considering attempting to fire Cook, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited a senior White House official and another person familiar with the matter.

White House at odds with the central bank

Cook is one of three Biden appointees to the Fed whose term extends beyond Trump’s time in office, complicating the president’s efforts to get more control by appointing a majority of its seven-member board.

Currently, two of the Fed’s remaining six board members were appointed by Trump: Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman.

Trump has repeatedly blasted Fed Chair Jerome Powell over benchmark rates that he wants sharply reduced, calling for his resignation while acknowledging that the Fed’s unique status in US governance prevents him from firing Fed board members over monetary policy disputes.

Trump can name a new chair when Powell’s term ends in May, but claiming a majority on the board may take more time. Powell could continue serving as a governor until 2028, near the end of Trump’s term, should he buck convention and continue sitting on the board under a new chair.

Until Powell’s departure, Trump at this point has only one other seat to fill, vacated recently by the surprise resignation of former Governor Adriana Kugler. Earlier this month, Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the rest of her term.

THE Government has confirmed when it’s planning to bring in controversial new powers aimed at cracking down on benefits fraudsters.

Banks will be drafted in to help identify benefits cheats and convicted fraudsters could be stripped of their driving licences under the new Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) plans.

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New Government documents have revealed it’s planning to bring the measures under the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill in April 2026.

The DWP has said it will be the “biggest fraud crackdown in a generation”.

It’s estimated the new powers could save taxpayers £1.5billion over five years.

Last year, an estimated £7.4billion was lost to benefits fraud – around 2.8% of total welfare spending.

A further £1.6bn (0.6%) was overpaid due to unintentional errors by claimants, while £0.8bn (0.3%) was overpaid because of errors by the DWP.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been trying to boost the public purse after it was revealed she needs to plug a £50billion hole in public finances.

The new measures mean banks will help to identify customers who might have breached benefit eligibility rules, such as exceeding the £16,000 savings limit for Universal Credit.

They will share limited data with the DWP but can’t provide transaction details, so officials won’t be able to see how benefit claimants spend their money.

The DWP also won’t gain direct access to claimants’ bank accounts, but it will receive cases flagged for investigation.

Financial institutions face penalties if they overshare information beyond what’s permitted.

Airlines and other third-party organisations might also have to provide information to help detect benefit claims made from abroad that could violate eligibility rules.

According to the Government documents, any information “will not be shared on the presumption or suspicion that anyone is guilty of any offence”.

However officials will gain authority to recover money directly from fraudsters’ bank accounts.

As well as this, persistent benefit fraudsters who fail to repay their debts could face driving bans lasting up to two years.

DWP minister Liz Kendall has pledged to clamp down on benefit cheats, saying back in March: “The social security system that we inherited from the Conservatives is failing the very people that it is supposed to help and is holding our country back.

“The facts speak for themselves. One in 10 people of working age are now claiming a sickness or disability benefit. Almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training – one in eight of all our young people.”

The DWP has said it will have strong safeguards in place, including new inspection and reporting mechanisms.

DWP staff will also receive comprehensive training before using the new powers.

However campaign groups have warned the powers could invade claimants’ rights to financial privacy and it could also lead to legitimate claimants being wrongly investigated.

In a letter to Kendall last year, the directors of Big Brother Watch and Age UK described the plans as “mass financial surveillance powers” which they said would “represent a severe and disproportionate intrusion into the nation’s privacy”.

Miran, who currently sits on the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, has advocated for a far-reaching overhaul of Fed governance.

United States President Donald Trump has said he will nominate Stephen Miran, a top economic adviser to the US Federal Reserve’s board of governors, for four months, temporarily filling a vacancy while continuing his search for a longer-term appointment.

The president announced his decision on Thursday.

Miran, the chair of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, would fill a seat vacated by Governor Adriana Kugler, a Biden appointee who is stepping down Friday. Kugler is returning to her tenured professorship at Georgetown University.

The term expires January 31, 2026, and is subject to approval by the Senate. Trump said the White House continues to search for someone to fill the 14-year Fed board seat that opens on February 1.

Miran, who served as an economic adviser in the Department of the Treasury during the first Trump administration, has advocated for a far-reaching overhaul of Fed governance that would include shortening board member terms, putting them under the clear control of the president, and ending the “revolving door” between the executive branch and the Fed and nationalising the Fed’s 12 regional banks.

The appointment is Trump’s first opportunity to exert more control over the Fed, one of the few remaining federal agencies that is still independent. Trump has relentlessly criticised the current chair, Jerome Powell, for keeping short-term interest rates unchanged – a major point of contention between the White House and the central bank.

Miran has been a major defender of Trump’s income tax cuts and tariff hikes, arguing that the combination will generate enough economic growth to reduce budget deficits. He has also played down the risk that Trump’s tariffs will generate higher inflation, a major source of concern for Powell.

Trump has unsuccessfully pressured Fed policymakers – who include Powell, his six fellow board members and the 12 Fed bank presidents – to lower rates. Appointing Miran to the central bank, even in a placeholder role, gives the president a potentially more direct route to pursue his desire for easier monetary policy.

‘Trump loyalist’

It is unclear how much time Miran would have at the Fed to try to deploy his ideas, or even vote on interest rates, though.

All Fed nominees require Senate confirmation, a process that includes a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, a vote from that panel advancing the nomination and a series of floor votes before the full Senate, where Democrats have been slowing the pace of approval for Trump appointments.

“Stephen Miran is a Trump loyalist and one of the chief architects of the President’s chaotic tariff policy that has hurt Americans’ wallets,” the Senate Banking Committee’s top-ranking Democrat, Elizabeth Warren, said on X following the announcement. “I’ll have tough questions for him about whether he’d serve the American people or merely serve Donald Trump.”

The Senate is on summer recess until September 2.

There are just four policy-setting meetings, including one on September 16-17, before the end of what would be Miran’s term.

Fed policymakers kept the policy rate in its current 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent range at their July meeting, with Powell citing somewhat elevated inflation and the concern that Trump’s tariffs could keep it that way as reasons to keep policy restrictive.

Several central bankers this month have raised concerns about labour market weakness, and at least a couple have expressed renewed confidence that tariffs may not push up inflation as much as earlier thought. Those views echo the arguments made by two Fed governors who last month dissented on the decision to leave policy on hold.

Gaza’s health system is in a state of collapse as Israel continues its attacks on medical facilities. A strike on Tuesday hit a UN clinic in Gaza City. The nearby Al Shifa Hospital reported a severe shortage of blood as many people in Gaza are too malnourished to make donations.