Author: omc_admin

President Trump once again went after the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, saying at a rally in Michigan that “I have a Fed person who is not really doing a good job.” It was an apparent reference to Fed chairman Jerome Powell, although he didn’t mention Powell by name, with Trump saying, “I want to be very nice and respectful to the Fed.” “You are not supposed to criticize the Fed; you are supposed to let him do his own thing, but I know much more than he does about interest rates, believe me,” he added. President Donald Trump speaks on…

Job openings slid in March to sit near a four-year low as the labor market continued to cool. New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 7.19 million jobs open at the end of March, a decrease from the 7.48 million seen in February. Job openings in March hit their lowest level since September 2024 and were near levels not seen since December 2020. The data comes as investors closely watch for any signs that economic growth may be slowing further. The February figure was revised lower from the 7.57 million open jobs initially reported. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg…

By Michael S. Derby and Ann Saphir (Reuters) -Top U.S. bank lending officers reported weaker demand from businesses and consumers for many types of credit during the first three months of the year, according to a Federal Reserve report released on Monday, reversing a short-lived surge in loan demand the previous quarter. The number of banks reporting weaker demand for commercial and industrial loans outnumbered those reporting stronger demand by the biggest margin in a year for small firms, the central bank’s April Senior Loan Officer Survey detailing activity during the first quarter showed. For large firms, demand for loans…

By Alexandra Alper WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. federal human resources agency at the heart of billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s efforts to slash the federal workforce on Friday canceled a contract it had awarded to Workday and which had excluded other bidders. The contract for a new cloud-based HR platform, signed on May 2 and awarded without seeking bids from rivals, had raised eyebrows among current and former employees of the Office of Personnel Management. They had described the sole-source contract as irregular, given the competition in an industry that includes ADP and SAP, and expressed surprise to see OPM’s…

By Howard Schneider PALO ALTO (Reuters) -President Donald Trump’s unfolding trade policy may curb U.S. productivity and possibly require higher interest rates to contain inflation in a less efficient economy, Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook said on Friday. “I expect to see a drag on productivity in the near term stemming from the recent changes to trade policy and the related uncertainty,” Cook said in remarks prepared for a delivery at an economics conference at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Uncertainty around Trump’s plans could discourage investment, Cook said, while the rising cost of imported intermediate goods and equipment could also…

By Howard Schneider PALO ALTO (Reuters) – The Fed should not commit to further interest rate cuts until it is clear whether the Trump administration’s tariff policies lead to persistent inflation or a less serious, one-time adjustment in prices, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said on Friday. Musalem said he currently puts even odds on either of the two paths for inflation. In theory, tariffs should prompt a one-time price jump similar to the imposition of a tax; but coming off the heels of recent high inflation the effect could be longer-lasting, and may also be more persistent since…

By Ann Saphir and Howard Schneider Palo Alto, California (Reuters) – Kevin Warsh, an apparent frontrunner to be U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, on Friday suggested a possible pathway to the lower policy rates that Trump has repeatedly pressed the current Fed Chair Jerome Powell to deliver, and delivered a fresh dig at the Fed’s conduct of monetary policy. A large and often growing Fed balance sheet can work at cross-purposes with the Fed’s main policy lever of setting short-term borrowing rates, Warsh told a monetary policy panel at Stanford University’s…

By Howard Schneider and Ann Saphir PALO ALTO, California (Reuters) -The Federal Reserve needs more time to see how the economy responds to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff and other policies before figuring out the right response, Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack said on Friday, noting that much of the administration’s sweeping agenda remains unclear. “I stand ready to move whenever we have clear and convincing evidence, but … given the overall breadth of the policies that have been discussed and put in place, I think there’s a real question about what those impacts are going to look like,…

(Reuters) – Oil prices were little changed early on Friday after rising more than 3% in the previous session, as trade tension between top oil consumers U.S. and China showed signs of easing and Britain announced a “breakthrough” trade deal with the United States. Brent crude rose 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $62.91 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $59.98 a barrel as at 0121 GMT. On Thursday, Brent settled up 2.8% at $1.72 and WTI rose 3.2% to $1.84. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet China’s top economic official…

By Andrea Shalal and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his criticism on Thursday of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling him a “fool” and complaining that the Fed is refusing to lower interest rates. Trump has been on a virtual war path against Powell in recent weeks, threatening to fire him — and then backing away from that threat. He has repeatedly lashed out at Powell in posts on his social media site, calling him “a major loser” in one post. Trump, speaking one day after the Fed, as financial markets had widely expected, kept its…