Federal Reserve

1 of 3 | U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (pictured in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday) said President Donald Trump is likely to select the next chair of the Federal Reserve before Christmas. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 25 (UPI) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday President Donald Trump is likely to select the next chair of the Federal Reserve before Christmas.

Bessent made the remarks in an interview on CNBC, where he offered an update on his work overseeing the search for a successor to Jerome Powell, the current chair whose term ends in May 2026. Trump has pressured Powell to lower interest rates, raising questions about the independence of the nation’s central bank.

In the interview, Bessent said he was seeking a simpler and more subtle role for the Fed, which plays a pivotal role in financial markets and the economy.

“I think we’ve got to kind of simplify things,” he said. “I think it’s time for the Fed just to move back into the background, like, it used to do, calm things down and work for the American people.”

Since returning to the White House, Trump has lobbed criticisms at Powell over his cautious approach to lowering interest rates after a period of high inflation. Trump, who first appointed Powell, has called him a “clown” and openly talked about wanting to fire him.

Inflation is currently at 3%, just shy of the Fed’s 2% target. But members of the Federal Open Market Committee, the bank’s primary monetary policy-setting body, were divided on whether to support rate cuts at its December meeting.

Further complicating the Fed’s work is news that the ​​Consumer Price Index report for October will not be available for its upcoming meeting. The monthly report presents a snapshot of consumer prices, but the recent government shutdown delayed its release.

Bessent said the list of candidates for Fed chair has been narrowed to five and work was progressing well. But he noted the final pick is up to Trump “whether it’s before the Christmas holidays or in the new year.”

Nov. 21 (UPI) — The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday it won’t deliver the October Consumer Price Index report, meaning the Federal Reserve won’t get the important data before it meets again Dec. 10 to decide on interest rates.

October’s CPI report was scheduled to come out on Nov. 7, but was canceled because of the government shutdown. The November report was scheduled for Dec. 10, but that’s been changed to Dec. 18, which will be too late for the Fed.

The BLS gathers information via visits, phone calls and surveys, which would have made it impossible during the shutdown and very difficult to get information retroactively.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis also said the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index “is to be rescheduled,” though no firm date has been announced, CNBC reported. That report is the main inflation forecasting tool that the Fed uses.

Minutes from the Fed’s October meeting show that the officials disagreed on whether to lower interest rates at the December meeting after it approved back-to-back reductions.

Each of the last two meetings ended with them lowering the rate by .25% to a now-3.7% to 4%.

“This is a temporary state of affairs. And we’re going to do our jobs, we’re going to collect every scrap of data we can find, evaluate it, and think carefully about it,” CNBC reported Fed Chair Jerome Powell said after the October meeting.

“What do you do if you’re driving in the fog? You slow down. … There’s a possibility that it would make sense to be more cautious about moving.”

New York Fed President John Williams said Friday he thinks the central bank probably has “room for a further adjustment in the near term,” implying a potential cut.

South Korean stocks closed sharply lower Friday, as renewed concerns over an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble weighed heavily on big-cap tech shares. The local currency fell to the lowest level in seven months against the U.S. dollar on massive foreign stock selling.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 151.59 points, or 3.79 percent, to close at 3,853.26.

Trade volume was moderate at 307.95 million shares worth 14.02 trillion won (US$9.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 718 to 177.

Foreigners sold a net 2.83 trillion won worth of shares, while retail and institutional investors bought a net 2.29 trillion won and 495.46 billion won worth of shares, respectively.

According to the Korea Exchange, offshore investors’ net selling reached its largest level since Feb. 26, 2021, when they offloaded 2.83 trillion won worth of shares.

The index opened lower, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, and further extended its decline as investors were wary of the valuation of AI-related shares and their aggressive investment plans.

Also affecting the sentiment was the Federal Reserve‘s monetary policy, as expectations for further rate cuts continued to wane.

“The market surrendered its gains from yesterday’s Nvidia earnings surprise. Following recent sharp gains, volatility appears to have persisted,” Han Ji-young, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said.

“But there remains ample potential for sentiment to reverse depending on upcoming key economic data and additional AI-related developments,” the analyst added.

Tech shares dipped following a rally in the previous session.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 5.77 percent to 94,800 won, and chip giant SK hynix plunged 8.76 percent to 521,000 won.

Major battery maker LG Energy Solution lost 3.51 percent to 425,500 won, and LG Chem dipped 5.53 percent to 367,000 won.

Nuclear power plant builder Doosan Enerbility sank 5.92 percent to 73,100 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace shed 5.13 percent to 869,000 won.

Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy skidded 4.8 percent to 555,000 won, and its rival Hanwha Ocean lost 4.16 percent to 119,800 won. No. 1 steelmaker POSCO declined 3.42 percent to 310,500 won.

Carmakers finished mixed. Top automaker Hyundai Motor retreated 0.95 percent to 259,500 won, while its sister affiliate Kia rose 0.53 percent to 114,000 won.

Leading financial group KB Financial decreased 0.58 percent to 120,500 won, while internet portal operator Naver surged 2.14 percent to 262,500 won.

The local currency was quoted at 1,475.6 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 7.7 won from the previous session.

It marked the weakest level since April 9, when it finished at 1,484.1 won. The April 9 figure was the lowest since March 12, 2009, when the won closed at 1,496.5 amid the global financial crisis.

Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, ended higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 3.6 basis points to 2.872 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds lost 3.9 basis points to 3.076 percent.

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Nov. 13 (UPI) — Doubts about a potential third Federal Reserve rate in December triggered an 800-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday after setting a record high a day earlier.

The Dow closed higher than 48,000 for the first time on Wednesday, but Investopedia reported a steep decline on Thursday amid concerns over the Federal Reserve rate.

The Dow reached a daily high or 48,211.83 during morning trading on Thursday but declined steadily afterward to a low of 47,431.43 and closed at 47,457.22, which is a drop of 797.60 and 1.65% for the day.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 likewise posted downturns during the day’s trading, with the Nasdaq closing at 22,870.36, which is a decline of 536.10 and 2.29%.

The S&P 500 dropped by 113.43 and 1.66% when it closed at 6,737.49.

Analysts largely attributed the declines to concerns regarding the Federal Reserve and whether it will approve a third quarter-point rate reduction before the year’s end, according to CNBC.

In October, analysts placed a 95% confidence in a December rate cut, but confidence has declined to about 49% due to a lack of data because of the record 43-day federal government shutdown ended following President Donald Trump‘s signing of a funding measure on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet for two days on Dec. 9 and 10, but committee members have grown more doubtful of another 0.25% rate cut due to the effects of the government shutdown and the president’s often-changing tariff policies.

The current rate is between 3.75% and 4% after the Federal Reserve committee approved a 0.25% rate reduction on Oct. 29.

Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, attend the presidential inauguration of President Donald Trump on Monday, January 20, 2025. File Pool Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 3 (UPI) — The United States’ 10 richest billionaires saw their wealth grow last year by nearly $700 billion, according to a new report published Monday by Oxfam, which warns the Trump administration is worsening U.S. inequality.

The report states that in the past year, the wealth of U.S. billionaires grew by $698 billion.

Oxfam, the British-founded confederation of nearly two dozen non-governmental organizations, citing Federal Reserve data, found that between 1989 and 2022, a household in the top 0.1% gained $39.5 million, while a household in the top 1% gained about $8.3 million. Meanwhile, a bottom 20% household saw its wealth only grow by $8,465.

This equals to the poorest household in the top 1% having gained 987 times more wealth than the richest household in the bottom 20%, according to the report.

It continues by stating that while the wealth of working- and middle-class families have barely grown in more than three decades, America’s richest have seen their purses overflow.

As evidence, Oxfam said the share of national income going to the top 1% doubled from 1980 to 2022, while the share going to the bottom 50% decreased by one-third.

It also pointed to the top 1% owning half of the entire stock market, while the bottom half of Americans only hold 1.1%.

“The data confirms what people across our nation already know instinctively: the new American oligarchy is here,” Abby Maxman, Oxfam America’s president and CEO, said in a statement accompanying the publication of the report.

“Billionaires and mega-corporations are booming while working families struggle to afford housing, healthcare and groceries.”

The report warns that the Trump administration is taking actions that threaten to worsen inequality in the United States.

According to Oxfam, the Trump administration, backed by a Republican-controlled Congress, “has moved with staggering speed and scale to carry out a relentless attack on working class families, and use the power of the office to enrich the wealthy and well-connected.”

Maxman said the Trump administration and congressional Republicans “risk turbocharging” this inequality, while adding that what they are doing isn’t new, but what is different “is how much undemocratic power they’ve now amassed.”