US Fed Chairman Powell Makes Unexpected Admissions During Prank Call With Two Russians Posing As Ukrainian President Zelensky

Zero Hedge: Powell Makes Unexpected Admissions During Prank Call With Fake Zelensky 

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell made several bizarre, if not shocking, admissions during a prank call with two Russians posing as Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky, where they discussed topics ranging from inflation, to the Russian central bank, to joking about having a 'printing press' in the basement and possibly setting up a federal reserve bank in Kiev. 

More interesting was Powell's admission, thinking he was speaking with Zelensky, during the call (which reportedly took place in January) that the Fed would hike rates two more times - a topic on which he has been far more circumspect even when giving testimony before Congress.  

Read more ....  

WNU Editor: The two pranksters, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, have been doing this for years. I am surprised that Powell got duped by them. It is clear to me that they do not sound like Zelensky. 

And as for Powell giving this fake Zelensky detailed information on what the Fed was planning to do. I call that another surprise.

US Fedral Reserve Raises Interest Rates By 0.75 Percentage Points For The Fourth Time In A Row To 4 Percent

The rate now sits at 4 percent (above) as mortgage rates jumped to 7.16 percent last week, well above levels prior to the 2008 Great Recession  

Daily Mail: Fed raises interest rates by 0.75 percentage points for the fourth time in a row to 4 percent - hiking the cost of living for average American family: Central bank warns it may not slow down and will 'stay the course until the job is done' 

* The Federal Reserve increased interest rates by another 0.75 percentage points to hit 4 percent on Wednesday 

* It is the fourth time in a row the central banks has made such an aggressive hike in a bid to quell rampant inflation, which remains high at 8.2 percent 

* While the rate hike could cause inflation to drop, it will raise the cost of borrowing for Americans as mortgage rates sit above 7 percent 

* Experts and lawmakers have warned that the aggressive rate hikes won't jus cool off the economy, it'll send the US into a full recession 

The Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday - the fourth such increase in a row - in order to combat rampant inflation. 

The central bank bumped interest rates from 3.25 percent to 4 percent, another aggressive push as the inflation rate, which hit a 41-year high over the summer, remains towering at 8.2 percent. 

Although inflation could decrease through the hikes, the cost of borrowing for American's is expected to surge, with mortgage rates hitting 7.16 percent last week, well above the rates prior to the 2008 economic crisis.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: Fed unleashes another big rate hike but hints at a pullback (AP)  

Update #2: Fed delivers big rate hike, signals possible smaller increases ahead, article with gallery (Reuters)  

Update #3: Powell Pulls Rug Out From Euphoric Fed Statement Reaction, Terminal Rate Spikes (Zero Hedge)  

WNU Editor: Bottom line. US Interest rates are going to continue to go up.

Is The U.S. Federal Reserve Going Woke?

U.S. Federal Reserve (Wikipedia)  

Daily Mail: Biden's woke Federal Reserve nominees: Economist married to a Democrat who wants to choke off oil and gas lending, Obama-era official who has written about the economics of lynching and professor who is expert on economics of poverty 

* Sarah Bloom Raskin, the wife of Democrat congressman Jamie Raskin, has been nominated to be in charge of policing the nation's largest banks for the Fed 

* The Duke University professor has previously served as a Fed governor and deputy Treasury secretary, and is known for her focus on climate change 

* In September, Raskin said regulators must 'incentivize a rapid, orderly, and just transition away from high-emission and biodiversity-destroying investments' 

* Lisa Cook, if appointed, would be the first black woman to serve on the Fed's board 

* Cook said she was inspired to become an economist while climbing the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, and went on to work in Rwanda 

* She worked with U2 frontman Bono to lobby the White House to cancel developing world debt 

* Her work at Michigan State has included investigating how segregation, lynchings, and race riots from 1870–1940 reduced the total number of patents 

* The third nominee is Philip Jefferson, currently a professor at Swarthmore in Pennsylvania specializing in poverty reduction 

* Washington DC-born, he said he wanted as a child to be a banker because he saw on television they were 'well dressed' 

Joe Biden has nominated three people to the board of the Federal Reserve in what would usher in the most diverse group in the Fed's history - and the most woke. 

The president is intent on nominating a white woman, Sarah Bloom Raskin; a black woman, Lisa Cook; and a black man, Philip Jefferson. 

If they are confirmed to their posts, the seven-person Fed board would have four women, one black man and two white men - the most diverse team in the Fed's 108 years of existence.  

Read more ....  

Update: Biden seeks to reshape Fed with historically diverse slate of nominees (Reuters) 

Update #2: Biden Nominates Sarah Bloom Raskin, Philip Jefferson and Lisa Cook To Fed Board (Zero Hedge)  

WNU Editor: Is gender, race, and having a progressive background the necessary qualifications to now be on the board of the Federal Reserve? 

Apparently yes. 

So what does that mean for the future of America's money and its place as the world's reserve currency? 

You tell me.

Entire US Federal Reserve Payment System Crashes For Three Hours Due To 'Operational Error' Freezing $3Trillion In Daily Transactions

 

Daily Mail: Entire Federal Reserve payment system CRASHES due to 'operational error' freezing $3trillion in daily transactions including paychecks, tax refunds and bill payments 

 * All Federal Reserve settlement services suffered disruptions on Wednesday 

 * The key banking systems were offline for more than three hours 

 * Fed says that the massive outage was caused by an 'operational error' 

 * Systems affected form the backbone of US banking and financial sector 

 * Fedwire is used by banks to transfer an average of $3.3 trillion every day 

 * FedACH handles smaller transactions such as paychecks and tax refunds 

The Federal Reserve payment systems used to settle transactions between U.S. financial institutions has suffered a massive disruption due to an 'operational error'. 

The system used by U.S. banks to execute some $3 trillion in transactions daily began suffering outages at around 11.15am Eastern time on Wednesday, and remained down for more than three hours. 

Read more .... 

WNU Editor: Imagine what would happen if this outage was not repaired. 

 More News On The Entire US Federal Reserve Payment System Crashes For Three Hours 

The Fed’s system that allows banks to send money back and forth went down for several hours -- CNBC 

Fed suffers 3-hour outage on bank-to-bank transfer services -- Yahoo News 

Federal Reserve payment system crashed, service restored hours later -- FOX News 

The Federal Reserve suffers widespread disruption to payment services -- CNN

Fed glitch shuts down wire transfers, direct deposits, other services -- Ars Technica

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Says The 'U.S. Economy As We Know It May Be Over'

 

CNN: The economy as we knew it might be over, Fed Chairman says 

 New York (CNN Business)The Covid-19 pandemic brought the economy to a screeching halt, and while it has started its long road to recovery, the economy we knew is probably a thing of the past, said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday. 

"We're recovering, but to a different economy," Powell said during a virtual panel discussion at the European Central Bank's Forum on Central Banking. The pandemic has accelerated existing trends in the economy and society, including the increasing use of technology, telework and automation, he said. This will have lasting effects on how people live and work.  

Read more ....  

Update: Here are the things that scare Jerome Powell the most about the economy right now (CNBC)  

WNU Editor: If there was ever a time when the Central Banks would become blunt in saying that they want to change how the world financial system works, it is now. And aside from pushing governments to  print more money, what they really want is this .... EU will decide on digital euro in January 2021: ECB president (Coin Telegraph).

U.S. Federal Reserve Says Financial System Came Under Severe Strain In March. Sees Further Threats If Crisis Grows

FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve building is set against a blue sky, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Washington, U.S., May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Reuters: Fed warns of 'significant' financial vulnerabilities from pandemic

The U.S. Federal Reserve warned Friday that the financial sector faces "significant" vulnerabilities due to the coronavirus pandemic, as businesses and households grapple with fragile finances for the foreseeable future.

In its latest report on financial stability, the Fed said the global pandemic imposed sweeping risks. While policy actions from the Fed and others have helped bolster the economy, and the banking system has withstood the initial downturn, the report warned of major risks if the pandemic proves lengthy or more severe than anticipated.

"The COVID-19 outbreak poses severe risks to businesses of all sizes and millions of households," the central bank said as it ran down a list of trouble spots that could arise depending on how long the virus persists and keeps the economy on its heels.

Read more ....

Update #1: The Federal Reserve says parts of the financial system came under severe strain in March, sees further threats possible -- AP
Update #2: Fed Warns of Significant Hit to Asset Prices If Crisis Grows -- Bloomberg

WNU Editor: The message from the US Federal Reserve is very clear. If the pandemic continues and it becomes even more severe in the coming months, we are in trouble.

Foreigners Are Dumping U.S. Treasuries

Zero Hedge: Fed Panics As Foreigners Dump A Record $109 Billion In US Treasuries

Exactly one week ago, when we highlighted the unprecedented surge in Fed Treasury purchases which since March 19 has amounted to $75BN per day until tomorrow when it tapers modestly to $60BN, we said that the Fed's record ramp in debt monetization "is hardly an accident: one look at the Treasury securities held in custody at the Fed shows that the past two weeks have seen a whopping $50BN in foreign central bank sales, a 1.7% drop which was the highest in six years."

As we also noted, "the selling may have contributed to record volatility in the Treasury market and prompted the Fed’s intervention. More importantly, it also means that the biggest buyer of US Treasurys in the past decade, foreign official institutions (i.e., central banks and reserve managers) are now sellers, so now the U.S. government needs private investors to soak up the ever increasing debt issuance."

Read more ....

WNU Editor: Every country in the world is circling the wagons right now, and that includes dumping U.S. treasuries and bringing their money back home.

U.S. Federal Reserve Slashes Interest Rates To Near Zero. Global Central Markets Are Following

Daily Mail: Federal Reserve slashes interest rates to near zero amid coronavirus concerns that 'pose risks to the US' economic outlook'

* The Federal Reserve has taken emergency action to lower interest rates to near zero over coronavirus concerns
* The central bank said in a statement released on Sunday that it was cutting rates to a target range of 0 per cent to 0.25 per cent
* The Fed said the effects of the coronavirus is expected to 'weigh on economic activity in the near term and poses risks to the economic outlook'
* It also will purchase more Treasury securities to encourage lending to try to offset the impact of the outbreak
* The Fed plans to buy $500 billion of Treasury securities and $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities in response to market disruptions
* The disruptions bumped up the yield on the 10-year Treasury last week, an unusual move that threatens to increase borrowing costs

The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the second time in less than two weeks on Sunday in another emergency move to help shore up the US economy amid the rapidly escalating global coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, the central bank said it was cutting rates to a target range of 0% to 0.25%.

'The effects of the coronavirus will weigh on economic activity in the near term and poses risks to the economic outlook. In light of these developments, the committee decided to lower the target range,' the Fed said in a statement.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The world's central banks are reacting .... Global central banks take sweeping action to fight coronavirus (Reuters), but the Asian and European markets are still being battered. The futures markets are also predicting a terrible day for Wall Street when the markets open Monday morning .... Markets brace for black Monday as Dow futures hit their 'limit' to stop panic after states started shutting down (Daily Mail). WOW! I thought I would never see a time where US interest rates are near zero, but we are there now.

Update: If this pandemic is not halted in the next few months, we are definitely heading into a recession .... U.S. is NOT headed for a recession says Steven Mnuchin – Treasury secretary makes extraordinary claim in the middle of coronavirus crisis after the worst week on Wall Street since the Great Recession, but admits a 'slowdown' is inevitable (Daily Mail).

More News On The U.S. Federal Reserve Slashing Interest Rates To Near Zero

Fed takes emergency steps to slash rates and ease bank rules -- AP
US Federal reserve slashes rates to cushion coronavirus blow -- France 24
Coronavirus forces US Federal Reserve to cut interest rate to near zero -- ABC News Online
Rate cuts: US goes to almost zero and launches huge stimulus programme -- BBC

U.S. Interest Rates Are About To Skyrocket, And Most Americans Are Not Prepared

CBS: The U.S.'s interest payments are about to skyrocket. Does it matter?

The Fed's interest rate hikes are doing more than hitting consumers in the credit cards. They're also making it much more expensive for the U.S. to carry its debt load.

While they're not currently a subject of President Trump's Twitter outrage, America's interest payments have become a point of concern for some on Wall Street. Those payments are projected to triple to more than $600 billion by 2023, reflecting rising interest rates as well as the exploding deficit. That figure approaches the amount the U.S. spends on national defense every year, and dwarfs what it spends on agriculture, Medicaid, income security and veterans' programs, to name just a few.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: When the government pays zero interest on the money that they borrow no one cares. But when it gets to 2 to 3 percent .... it starts to hurt. Five percent a growing panic. Anything above 7% becomes a potential disaster with real pain. Above ten .... think of Greece. I can spend all night explaining why the current FED policy of raising interest rates just when the economy is expanding is a recipe for disaster. Bottom line .... and President Trump is right on this one .... it is not going to end well if it continues.

Update: This is going to change nothing .... Embattled Federal Reserve chairman tells White House officials he'll meet face-to-face with Trump in bid to end feud that left stock markets reeling over fears president will fire him (Daily Mail)

U.S. Federal Reseve Raises Interest Rates

Daily Mail: Defiant Fed chair Jerome Powell says politics played 'no role whatsoever' on its decision to hike interest rates and vows 'nothing will deter us' after President Trump's failed effort to goad the central bank to hold off an increase

 * The Federal Reserve announced its decision on rates after extraordinary public pressure from the president
 * Hike of 0.25 per cent
 * Benchmark rate at 2.5 per cent
 * Said more rate increases were appropriate
 * News wiped away morning 350 point gain in the Dow
 * Powell said 'political considerations play no role whatsoever in our discussions'
 * Said 'nothing will deter us from doing what we think is the right thing to do'
 * Trump on Tuesday argued against a hike and urged the Fed to 'feel the market'
 * He has also attacked Fed Chair Jerome Powell in interviews and on Twitter
 * Decision comes amid a strong job market but some signs of economic cooling
 * A volatile market has wiped out 2018's stock market gains
 * The move impacts borrowing across the board

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell said 'nothing' will deter independent central bankers from following their economic convictions – after an extraordinary pressure campaign by President Donald Trump to hold off on rate hikes.

Powell got asked repeatedly Wednesday about Trump's extended public push to hold off on further rate increases – which the Fed's rate committee brushed past as it came out with a 0.25 per cent increase in the Fed's closely-watched lending rate.

And though he didn't go after Trump by name, Powell, who was nominated by the president, proclaimed his independence when asked about the pressure tactics by multiple reporters at a rare press conference.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The impact of these rate hikes will be felt globally. This determination to raise these rates is also something that I have trouble understanding. Why raise rates when the economy is booming, and especially when you need a booming economy to minimize the government's budget deficits.

President Donald Trump Has Nominated Jerome Powell To Run The Federal Reserve

CNBC: Trump picks Jerome Powell to succeed Yellen as Fed chair

* President Donald Trump nominated Jerome Powell to run the Federal Reserve once current Chair Janet Yellen's term expires in February.
* Powell led a diverse field of potential nominees that included former Governor Kevin Warsh, Stanford economist John Taylor, chief Trump economic advisor Gary Cohn, and Yellen herself.
* Yellen's term has been marked by a mostly uninterrupted bull market that began in March 2009 and low interest rates even as the Fed has sought to unwind the stimulus initiated during the crisis.

President Donald Trump nominated Jerome Powell to run the Federal Reserve once current Chair Janet Yellen's term expires, in a move widely expected and one unlikely to disturb the roaring stock market.

Trump made the announcement during a Thursday afternoon ceremony in the Rose Garden.

The move follows an extended period of speculation over who would be named to head the central bank, whose aggressive policies have been considered central to a climate of low interest rates, surging job creation and booming asset prices.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The U.S. stock market appears to like the Powell nomination, but it is also booming over expectations on this passing .... Dow closes at record high in wild session after release of tax reform bill, Powell nomination (CNBC). This appointment is important because after the U.S. President .... Jerome Powell will have the power to impact our lives more than anyone else via through our pocketbook .... even for folks like me who live in Canada. (There is a Canadian saying .... when the U.S. sneezes, Canada gets a cold).

U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairwoman Janet Yellen: No New Financial Crisis In 'Our Lifetimes'

Reuters: Fed's Yellen expects no new financial crisis in 'our lifetimes'

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that she does not believe that there will be another financial crisis for at least as long as she lives, thanks largely to reforms of the banking system since the 2007-09 crash.

"Would I say there will never, ever be another financial crisis?" Yellen said at a question-and-answer event in London.

"You know probably that would be going too far but I do think we're much safer and I hope that it will not be in our lifetimes and I don't believe it will be," she said.

Yellen said it would "not be a good thing" if reforms of the financial services industry since the crisis were unwound, and urged those who had helped manage the fallout at the time to be vocal in preventing such a dilution.

Read more ....

Update: Yellen: Banks 'very much stronger'; another financial crisis not likely 'in our lifetime' (CNBC)

WNU Editor: Not surprising .... others have a different point of view .... Great recession fears as bankers warn next global crash could arrive 'with a vengeance' (Caroline Mortimer, The Independent)

Has The U.S. Federal Reserve Gone Completely Insane?

Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse: 12 Reasons Why The Federal Reserve May Have Just Made The Biggest Economic Mistake Since The Last Financial Crisis

Has the Federal Reserve gone completely insane? On Wednesday, the Fed raised interest rates for the second time in three months, and it signaled that more rate hikes are coming in the months ahead. When the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates, it becomes less expensive to borrow money and that tends to stimulate more economic activity. But when the Federal Reserve raises rates , that makes it more expensive to borrow money and that tends to slow down economic activity. So why in the world is the Fed raising rates when the U.S. economy is already showing signs of slowing down dramatically? The following are 12 reasons why the Federal Reserve may have just made the biggest economic mistake since the last financial crisis…

Read more ....

WNU Editor:I have said it more than once in the past .... this is not going to end well. The only question that needs to be answered is when.

Will A President Trump Impose Changes At The U.S. Federal Reserve?

Janet L. Yellen’s four-year term as the Federal Reserve chairwoman ends on Feb. 3, 2018. Donald Trump has said he will most likely replace her after that. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times

New York Times: With Trump in Power, the Fed Gets Ready for a Reckoning

WASHINGTON — Paul A. Volcker, the Federal Reserve chairman, received an urgent warning two weeks after Ronald Reagan won the 1980 presidential election. Some of the president-elect’s advisers, he was told, wanted to abolish the central bank and replace it with a computer program that would manage interest rates and monetary policy.

Today, a Democratic Fed leader is once again bracing to see whether victorious and emboldened Republicans will try to overhaul the central bank.

In almost three years as the Fed’s chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen has led an aggressive campaign to stimulate economic growth. Donald J. Trump, the president-elect, has embraced criticism that the Fed is causing more problems than it is solving, and he has surrounded himself with advisers who would like to rein in the institution that has the greatest influence over the direction of the nation’s economy.

Mr. Trump can fill a majority of the Fed’s seven-member board with his own nominees over the next 18 months, including replacing Ms. Yellen in February 2018. He also could work with Congress on new constraints, including some form of an old idea on the right that a formula should dictate the Fed’s movements of interest rates.

Read more ....

WNU Editor:  U.S. Fed chairwoman Janet L. Yellen has already signaled that interest rates are going to go up in December, and that Quantitative Easing is over. If there is an issue that gets me all riled up .... it is this one. We have been living a bubble for the past few years .... and it is going to hurt when these measures are imposed .... especially rising interest rates. When I ask all of my friends on what would be the impact on their lives if  their interest/mortgage rates go up just 3% or 4% .... the look on their faces says it all.  And talk about escaping blame. This hurt is going to be blamed on Donald Trump because he will be in office when all of this unravels .... even though all of the measures and policies that put us in this position were approved under President Obama and a compliant U.S. Congress.

Is The U.S. Federal Reserve Rigging The U.S. Election?

Zero Hedge: The Most Cynical Take On Friday's Jobs Number: "The Fed Will Not Hike In September With Trump In The Race": Citi

If traders have a feeling that there is a prevailing sense of blase disenchantment involving not only US macro data but the overall market, you are not alone. Here is arguably the best, and thus most cynical take, of Friday's impressive seasonal adjustment factor payrolls report, from Citi's Brent Donnelly:

Summer apathy and generally high frustration levels related to poor returns, extreme bearishness and existential questions around the death of price discovery due to central bank meddling.

Fed credibility is near zero so a strong number doesn’t matter much. This Fed is not going to hike two months before an election where the Republican candidate is seen by many as unfit to lead.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: When I read this story 3 weeks ago .... US interest rates to stay unchanged for at least two months, says Fed (The Guardian) .... I said to a friend of mine who is heavily involved in the markets that he did not have to worry .... the U.S. Fed is going to do nothing that will disrupt this economy from now to the election. The reason for my analysis .... raising interest rates would impact the economy .... starting with the stock markets, followed by an impact on the value of the U.S. currency. And since any disruption in the economy would benefit Donald Trump .... the priority for the US Fed would be to keep a lid on things as much as possible .... and postpone the hard decisions until after November. Is this a cynical view on how the U.S. manages its economy .... yes. Is the U.S. Federal Reserve trying to influence the election .... you tell me.