Tuesday November 19, 2019

// November 18th, 2019 // Daily News

Trump and Jerome Powell meet on economy, but Fed says decisions will remain ‘non-political

President Donald Trump and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell met Monday to discuss various economic issues.
Trump called the meeting “good & cordial” and said the two spoke about rates and dollar strength.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also was part of the meeting.
Presidents and Fed chairs have met regularly in the past, but few have had as publicly contentious a relationship as Trump and Powell.
President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who have been at odds over the direction of monetary policy, met Monday to discuss a variety of economic issues, according to a statement from the central bank.
The two, along with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, discussed the economy broadly as well as growth, employment trends and inflation.
Powell’s “comments were consistent with his remarks at his congressional hearings last week,” the Fed said.
Trump confirmed the meeting on his Twitter feed, saying the meeting was “good & cordial.”
Just finished a very good & cordial meeting at the White House with Jay Powell of the Federal Reserve. Everything was discused including interest rates, negative interest, low inflation, easing, Dollar strength & its effect on manufacturing, trade with China, E.U. & others, etc.

In separate meetings with panels on Capitol Hill, Powell said he felt that monetary policy was appropriate and likely to hold steady unless there are some significant changes in the economic outlook.
In addition, he said several times that Fed policy is not influenced by political considerations. That’s a key point, considering that Trump has been vocal in his criticism of the Powell Fed, saying that interest rate increases in 2018 were not necessary and that the central bank has been too slow to ease policy this year.

The full statement from the Fed:

At the President’s invitation, Chair Powell met with the President and the Treasury Secretary Monday morning at the White House to discuss the economy, growth, employment and inflation.
Chair Powell’s comments were consistent with his remarks at his congressional hearings last week. He did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming information that bears on the outlook for the economy.
Finally, Chair Powell said that he and his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee will set monetary policy, as required by law, to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective and non-political analysis.

Today’s Inspiration

NOVEMBER 18, 2019
Are You Not Worth Much More Than They?

It might do all of us good to spend some time watching birds. That’s what our Lord told us to do. If not every day, then at least every now and then we need to take the time to observe and remind ourselves how well our feathered friends are cared for. They literally do not know where their next meal is coming from, yet I have personally never seen a bird sitting on a tree branch having a nervous breakdown due to worry.

The Master’s point here is really very simple: “Are you not worth more than a bird?” Even though you may be wrestling with a poor self-image, surely you can believe that you are more valuable than a bird, and look how well your heavenly Father takes care of them.

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for reminding me that when life is overwhelming or I’m tempted to worry, I have tremendous value in Your eyes, and You’ll never let me down. Help me to be mindful that You will always love me, provide for me, and take care of every need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Comments are closed.