CPI Report Live Updates: Inflation Steady at 2.7% as Fed Considers Interest Rates
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- Federal Reserve official Mr. Williams expressed optimism about the economy, predicting stable unemployment, accelerating growth, and easing inflation, while signaling no immediate need for monetary policy changes.
- The Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell over a costly renovation project, marking an unprecedented challenge to the Fed’s independence and prompting Powell to publicly defend the institution.
- President Trump has criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates as aggressively as desired, escalating tensions by initiating the investigation and threatening to remove Fed officials, actions viewed by experts as political interference.
- Powell’s rare public response condemned the investigation as a coercive tactic to influence monetary policy, receiving support from former Fed chairs and Treasury secretaries who warned that such moves threaten the Fed’s autonomy.
- The
