Key Insight: Kevin Hassett, a top White House economist and possible successor to Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, said political independence is critical to the Fed and the lack of independence drives inflation. What’s at stake: President Trump has embarked on a campaign to gain a voting majority on the Fed’s Board […]
Hassett backs Fed independence Read More »
Now that jobs week is over, we are all left with one truth: it really is about the labor market over inflation data when it comes to mortgage rates, which hit a fresh year-to-date low after Friday’s terrible jobs numbers. The question now is whether mortgage rates can drop below 6% and stay there with
Can mortgage rates get below 6% with this Federal Reserve? Read More »
Mortgage rates reached another new low for 2025 on Thursday morning after a weak ADP jobs report caused bond yields to dip slightly ahead of the significant jobs report that will be released on Friday. Current 30-year fixed mortgage rates are at 6.45% according to Mortgage News Daily, marking an 11-month low. Mortgage rates reached
Mortgage rates drop to 11-month low after weak ADP jobs print Read More »
Stephen Miran, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and nominee to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.Bloomberg News The news: Stephen Miran will take unpaid leave from the Council of Economic Advisers, rather than resigning So what?: Democrats spent the confirmation hearing attacking Miran’s conflict of interest and the decline in Fed
Trump Fed nominee won’t resign from White House Read More »
Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) — The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into whether Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook committed mortgage fraud — ratcheting up pressure in President Donald Trump’s bid to oust her from the central bank. Federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas seeking information related to allegations that Cook misrepresented information on mortgage applications, according
Justice Department probing Lisa Cook for mortgage fraud Read More »
Wall Street strategists say investors are becoming more concerned about Federal Reserve independence as President Donald Trump seeks to impose his will on the central bank and pushes for interest-rate cuts. The gold rally and a rotation to value stocks, as well as the widening spread between yields on five- and 30-year Treasuries, show that
Wall Street strategists see more unease on Fed independence Read More »
Mortgage rates decreased slightly on Wednesday morning to a year-to-date low of 6.49% after the job openings data came in below expectations. The key takeaway from this BLS report is that we now have more unemployed workers than job openings. This is significant because the Federal Reserve has traditionally valued job openings data and has
Mortgage rates hit a new 2025 low after soft job openings report Read More »
Alberto Musalem, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.Bloomberg News WASHINGTON — A member of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting committee emphasized the importance of the central bank’s independence amid a looming challenge from the Trump administration. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President Alberto G. Musalem, speaking at an event at the
Fed’s Musalem: ‘Accountable’ central bank independence is key Read More »
Al Drago/Bloomberg Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook’s attorneys filed additional briefs in her case against President Trump over his moves to oust her from her seat on the Fed board, and the judge overseeing the case has scheduled final briefs to be due Sept. 4. Cook’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, founder of Lowell & Associates, asked
Key filings in Fed independence suit due Thursday Read More »
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s lawyers blasted President Donald Trump’s move to oust her as based on nothing more than a pack of “cut-and-paste” allegations related to mortgage fraud. In a flurry of court filings Tuesday, Cook’s lawyers emphasized arguments that Trump lacked valid grounds to fire Cook “for cause,” a key issue in her
Lisa Cook blasts Trump’s ‘cut-and-paste’ mortgage fraud claims Read More »