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Iran says US ‘spy’ drone was flying in its airspace amid strained relations over last week’s oil tanker attacks
A US Navy Global Hawk surveillance drone.
Photograph: Erik Hildebrandt/US Navy
Iran
has shot down an US drone in the strait of Hormuz, accusing Washington
of breaching Iran’s national sovereignty and trying to deepen tensions
in the region.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that they had used a
surface to air missile to shoot down what they called a US “spy” drone
they claimed was flying in the country’s airspace.
US Central Command confirmed that one of its unmanned aircraft had
been taken down, but said it was in international airspace. A CentCom
spokesman, Capt Bill Urban said it was a US navy Global Hawk
surveillance drone, which had been downed by an Iranian surface-to-air
missile over the Strait of Hormuz at 11.35pm GMT.
“Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false. This was
an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset in international
airspace,” Urban said.
The US military accused Iran last week of firing a missile at another drone that responded to the oil tanker attacks near the Gulf of Oman.
Tensions in the Gulf have been heightened since 13 June, when the US accused Iran of attacking two tankers
in the the Gulf of Oman with mines. The US military released footage it
said showed the Iranian military removing an unexploded mine from the
side of one of the tankers. There have also allegedly been
Iranian-inspired attacks on US oil and military assets in Iraq, and
increasingly sophisticated weaponry being fired into Saudi Arabia by
Houthi rebels.
The Iranian state news agency said the downed drone was an RQ-4
Global Hawk. “It was shot down when it entered Iran’s airspace near the
Kouhmobarak district in the south,” the Revolutionary Guards’ website
added.
The secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, Ali
Shamkhani, had said on Wednesday that Tehran would respond to any
intrusion into its airspace or waters.
Shamkhani emphasised that Iran robustly protects its aerial and
maritime borders, describing its airspace as the country’s “red line”.
“No matter whose plane trespasses into it, we have always given and will
give a harsh response to intruders.”
He insisted Iran was the guarantor of security in the Gulf and strait of Hormuz.
The chairman of the Iranian parliament’s national security and
foreign policy commission, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, urged the Iranian
government to file a complaint to the United Nations on the alleged US
drone intrusion into its territory. He said: “US drone intrusion to the
Iranian airspace is clear violation of the UN charter and national
sovereignty of the country.”
Both Washington and Tehran insist they are intent on avoiding a war
as tensions build over the consequences of the US withdrawal from the
Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, but fears that an accidental chain of
events will lead to escalation and finally a military confrontation are
growing.
The shooting down of the drone came as the US president, Donald Trump,
was briefed on the details of a separate incident: a further missile
strike in Saudi Arabia that appeared to come from Iran-backed Houthi
rebels in Yemen.
The White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said on Wednesday in
relation to the Saudi missile strike: “We are closely monitoring the
situation and continuing to consult with our partners and allies.”
‘Does the president have the power to declare war?’: Democrats grill Trump official on Iran – video
Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, who ousted the internationally
recognised Saudi-backed government in late 2014, have stepped up missile
and drone attacks on Saudi civilian, military and oil installations in
the past two weeks. Saudi Arabia claims Iranian experts are advising the Houthis.
The US has deployed an aircraft carrier to the Middle East in recent
weeks and added additional troops to the tens of thousands already in
the region.
Iran has set a deadline of 27 June by which it will breach limits on uranium stockpiles set out in the nuclear deal,
a development likely to lead to renewed US demands that the EU states
France, Germany and Britain join the US in pulling out of the deal. Iran
says it is gradually suspending its adherence to the deal in response
to the economic stranglehold being imposed on the country by US
sanctions.
A meeting of the joint commission that oversees the deal, known as
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is due to meet on 28 June in
Vienna – bringing together Iran, the three EU states, China, as well as
Russia. The EU will urge Iran not to take further steps to pull out of
the deal, and may put Iran’s actions into the JCPOA’s lengthy dispute
mechanism.
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Darden Restaurants
– The parent of Olive Garden and other restaurant chains reported
adjusted quarterly earnings of $1.76 per share, 3 cents a share above
estimates. Revenue fell short of forecasts, however, and a
comparable-restaurant sales increase of 1.6% was shy of the 2.3%
consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Darden also
forecast full-year profit of $6.40 to $6.45 per share, compared with a
$6.46 consensus estimate. Carnival
– The cruise line operator reported adjusted quarterly profit of 66
cents per share, 5 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also beat
forecast, however Carnival cut its full-year forecasts due to new
restrictions on travel to Cuba as well as other factors. Rival cruise
line operators Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line are under pressure in sympathy with Carnival. Oracle – Oracle reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.16 per share,
beating estimates by 9 cents a share. The business software giant’s
revenue also beat Street forecasts. Oracle’s results benefited from
strength in its on-premise IT offerings, as well as cloud and license
support services. Slack – Slack will debut on the New York Stock Exchange
today in a direct listing. The reference price for the workplace
messaging service’s stock was set at $26 per share, giving it a value of
about $15.7 billion. Tesla – Goldman lowered its price target
on the automaker’s stock to $158 per share from $200, while maintaining
a “sell” rating. Goldman said it sees a lower probability that upside
volume scenarios will be achieved. Aecom
– Activist investor Starboard Value sent a letter to the infrastructure
company’s board and CEO saying the stock is deeply undervalued and that
significant opportunities exist to unlock value. Starboard owns a 4%
stake in Aecom. GlaxoSmithKline – The drugmaker is offering concessions to European Union regulators to relieve concerns over its planned joint venture with Pfizer’s consumer health unit. The EU is set to decide by July 10 whether to accept those concessions and approve the deal. Deutsche Bank – Deutsche Bank is facing a possible probe over whether it complied with U.S. anti-money laundering laws, according to a report in the New York Times. Boeing – Boeing is in talks with more airlines
for sales of its currently grounded 737 Max jet, according to sales
chief Ihssane Mounir. That follows a 200-jet commitment from British
Airways owner IAG. Netflix
– Netflix said its “Murder Mystery” movie was watched by nearly 30.9
million account holders in its first three days, the biggest opening
ever for a Netflix film. T-Mobile – T-Mobile is preparing for an auction of its Boost Mobile prepaid unit if its talks to sell wireless assets to Dish Network
fall through, according to a Reuters report. T-Mobile is seeking to
sell assets to win regulatory approval for its proposed acquisition of
rival Sprint. Steelcase
– Steelcase reported quarterly earnings of 15 cents per share, 3 cents a
share shy of estimates. The office furniture maker’s revenue also fell
short of Street forecasts. The company said the revenue shortfall was
due to order growth that was weighted toward the second half of the
quarter. Pier 1 Imports
– Pier 1 announced a 1-for-20 reverse stock split, in order for the
household goods retailer to regain compliance with New York Stock
Exchange listing standards. Dell Technologies
– The computer equipment maker was rated “buy” in new coverage at
Deutsche Bank, which said a likely slowdown in information technology
infrastructure growth is already reflected in the stock’s price,
following a recent 25 percent pullback. Hershey
– Hershey was downgraded to “underweight” from “neutral” at Piper
Jaffray, which said the chocolate maker has stable growth but is trading
at a historically high premium to its peers.
Oracle
Corp. shares rallied in the extended session Wednesday after the
database giant topped Wall Street estimates for the quarter.
Oracle
ORCL, -0.42%
shares surged as much as 7%
after hours and were last up 4%, following a 0.4% decline to close the
regular session at $52.68.
The company reported fiscal
fourth-quarter net income of $3.74 billion, or $1.07 a share, compared
with $3.28 billion, or 79 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Adjusted earnings were $1.19 a share.
Revenue rose to $11.14 billion from $11.01 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast adjusted earnings of $1.07 a share on revenue of $10.93 billion.
Oracle
posted cloud services and license support revenue of $6.8 billion,
while analysts expected $6.76 billion. Cloud license and on-premise
license revenues were $2.5 billion. compared with the $2.32 billion
Street expectation.
Chinese shares rise amid positive US-China trade development; yuan jumps
Eustance Huang
5-7 minutes
Stocks in Asia rose on Wednesday following positive developments overnight on the U.S.-China trade front.
Mainland Chinese stocks gained on the day, as the Shanghai composite
rose 0.96% to 2,917.80 and the Shenzhen component gained 1.38% to
8,925.73, while the Shenzhen composite added 1.475% to 1,526.77.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also jumped 2.35%, as of its final hour of trading, with shares of life insurer AIA surging more than 3.5%.
Over in South Korea, the Kospi rose 1.24% to close at 2,124.78, with shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics and chipmaker SK Hynix jumping 2.25% and 5.99%, respectively.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200
also gained 1.19% to finish its trading day Down Under at 6,648.10,
with almost all sectors higher. The materials subindex rose 1.51% as
mining shares advanced: Rio Tinto gained 1.94%, Fortescue Metals Group jumped 2.82% and BHP added 2.04%.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 1.72% on the day to 21,333.87 as shares of conglomerate Softbank Group
soared 4.03%. The Topix index also added 1.74% to finish its trading
day at 1,555.27. Apple supplier Japan Display saw its stock surge 10.91%
following a Wall Street Journal article that said Apple may help the display maker.
Data on Wednesday, however, showed Japan’s exports exports declined 7.8% in May from a year earlier, down for the sixth straight month.
“For the Bank of Japan
and for policymakers, the message is very, very clear: the industrial
part of the Japanese economy is in recession, ” Jesper Koll, senior
adviser at WisdomTree Investments, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on
Wednesday.
Asia-Pacific Market Indexes Chart
TICKER
COMPANY
NAME
PRICE
CHANGE
%CHANGE
NIKKEI
Nikkei 225 Index
NIKKEI
21333.87
361.16
1.72
HSI
Hang Seng Index
HSI
28202.14
703.37
2.56
ASX 200
S&P/ASX 200
ASX 200
6648.10
78.10
1.19
SHANGHAI
Shanghai
SHANGHAI
2917.80
27.64
0.96
KOSPI
KOSPI Index
KOSPI
2124.78
26.07
1.24
CNBC 100
CNBC 100 ASIA IDX
CNBC 100
7973.89
165.28
2.12
US-China trade
Stocks surged overnight on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 353.01 points to 26,465.54 and the S&P 500 advanced 1% to 2,917.75. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4% to 7,953.88.
That jump in U.S. markets came after U.S. President Donald Trump said in a tweet he “had a very good telephone conversation ” with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He added: “We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G-20
in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting.”
The summit will start on June 28.
The offshore Chinese yuan
saw strong gains against the greenback following Trump’s comments, it
last traded at 6.9067 after seeing levels above 6.93 yesterday, while
its onshore counterpart changed hands at 6.9047.
Still, one economist voiced doubt about the upcoming meeting.
“We do not believe that the meeting will deliver a trade deal, even if
the meeting does take place. From the Chinese side, the discussion with
US President Trump is expected only to exchange views on fundamental
issues concerning the development of China-US relations,” Iris Pang,
Greater China economist at ING, wrote in a note.
“The news on the
talks in Osaka is a short term positive for asset markets, but we
believe any talks will change little unless either side makes some
meaningful concessions, which we do not view as likely at this time,”
Pang said.
Trade tensions between the two economic powerhouses had
worsened in recent weeks with both raising tariffs on billions of
dollars worth of their goods. Trump had also previously suggested that
additional levies could be imposed on more Chinese imports.
Central bank watch
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve
kicked off a two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday. The Fed is
widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at this meeting,
though investors will be watching out for hints on rate cuts later in
the year.
Expectations for a rate cut have increased in recent
weeks, amid data on slowing jobs growth and manufacturing activity, as
well as concerns over the impact of Washington’s protracted trade fight
with Beijing on the global economy.
Meanwhile, Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, indicated there could be more stimulus measures in Europe. He said Tuesday:
“In the absence of improvement, such that the sustained return of
inflation to our aim is threatened, additional stimulus will be
required.”
Trump criticized Draghi’s remarks, noting additional ECB stimulus makes it “unfairly easier ” for Europe to compete with the U.S. For his part, Draghi responded by saying “we don’t target the exchange rate. ”
The euro last traded at $1.1196, following a slide yesterday from levels above $1.123.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.621 after rising from levels below 97.6 yesterday.
The Japanese yen
traded at 108.27 against the dollar after a volatile session on Tuesday
which saw it swinging between levels below 108.2 and above 108.6. The Australian dollar was at $0.6877 after rising from levels below $0.685 yesterday.
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with the international benchmark Brent crude futures contract 0.13% higher at $62.22 per barrel and U.S. crude futures adding 0.15% to $53.98 per barrel. — Reuters and CNBC’s Fred Imbert contributed to this report. EUROPE
European stocks close mixed as investors monitor Fed meeting; auto stocks rise
Chloe Taylor,Elliot Smith
2-3 minutes
European
stocks ended the session little changed on Wednesday ahead of a
much-anticipated U.S. Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
European Markets: FTSE, GDAXI, FCHI, IBEX
TICKER
COMPANY
NAME
PRICE
CHANGE
%CHANGE
VOLUME
FTSE
FTSE 100
FTSE
7403.54
-39.50
-0.53
774630702
DAX
DAX
DAX
12308.53
-23.22
-0.19
104190582
CAC
CAC
CAC
5518.45
8.72
0.16
96950789
The pan-European Stoxx 600
hovered around the flatline at the end of the session, with sectors and
major bourses mixed. Basic resources led the losses with a 1.5% decline
while autos and bank stocks both rose around 1%.
In terms of individual stocks, German telecommunications company 1&1 Drillisch
topped the European blue chip index, with shares gaining 9.5% by the
end of the session. It comes after the telecoms firm won spectrum in
Germany’s 5G auction last week.
Banking group CYBG also enjoyed
gains on Wednesday. The owner of the U.K.’s Clydesdale and Yorkshire
banks announced it would rename itself Virgin Money in a major
rebranding, sending its shares 6% higher.
At the other end of the Stoxx 600, Belgian retailer Colruyt plunged more than 15% following the company’s full-year results.
Stateside,
stocks were also little changed as investors awaited news from the
Federal Reserve, which is due to deliver its latest policy update at 7
p.m. London time.
Global stocks rose in the previous session after
President Donald Trump announced plans on Twitter for an “extended
meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping at next week’s G-20 summit,
sparking hopes of a resolution to the ongoing trade war between the two
nations.
In the U.K., the number of Conservative party
hopefuls to replace Prime Minister Theresa May is now down to five, with
Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) set to vote in their third
leadership ballot Wednesday. Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson remains the frontrunner.
U.K.
economic data published Wednesday showed the country’s inflation rate
cooling in May, with cost pressures in factories falling to a three-year
low. Consumer prices rose to an annual rate of 2% in May, matching
expectations.
EUROPE
European stocks close mixed as investors monitor Fed meeting; auto stocks rise
Chloe Taylor,Elliot Smith
2-3 minutes
European
stocks ended the session little changed on Wednesday ahead of a
much-anticipated U.S. Federal Reserve decision on interest rates.
European Markets: FTSE, GDAXI, FCHI, IBEX
TICKER
COMPANY
NAME
PRICE
CHANGE
%CHANGE
VOLUME
FTSE
FTSE 100
FTSE
7403.54
-39.50
-0.53
774630702
DAX
DAX
DAX
12308.53
-23.22
-0.19
104190582
CAC
CAC
CAC
5518.45
8.72
0.16
96950789
The pan-European Stoxx 600
hovered around the flatline at the end of the session, with sectors and
major bourses mixed. Basic resources led the losses with a 1.5% decline
while autos and bank stocks both rose around 1%.
In terms of individual stocks, German telecommunications company 1&1 Drillisch
topped the European blue chip index, with shares gaining 9.5% by the
end of the session. It comes after the telecoms firm won spectrum in
Germany’s 5G auction last week.
Banking group CYBG also enjoyed
gains on Wednesday. The owner of the U.K.’s Clydesdale and Yorkshire
banks announced it would rename itself Virgin Money in a major
rebranding, sending its shares 6% higher.
At the other end of the Stoxx 600, Belgian retailer Colruyt plunged more than 15% following the company’s full-year results.
Stateside,
stocks were also little changed as investors awaited news from the
Federal Reserve, which is due to deliver its latest policy update at 7
p.m. London time.
Global stocks rose in the previous session after
President Donald Trump announced plans on Twitter for an “extended
meeting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping at next week’s G-20 summit,
sparking hopes of a resolution to the ongoing trade war between the two
nations.
In the U.K., the number of Conservative party
hopefuls to replace Prime Minister Theresa May is now down to five, with
Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) set to vote in their third
leadership ballot Wednesday. Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson remains the frontrunner.
U.K.
economic data published Wednesday showed the country’s inflation rate
cooling in May, with cost pressures in factories falling to a three-year
low. Consumer prices rose to an annual rate of 2% in May, matching
expectations.
US
Stocks close higher, adding to big June gains, after Fed hints a rate hike could be near
Fred Imbert
4 minutes
Stocks rose on Wednesday, bolstering their gains for the month,
after the Federal Reserve opened the door for looser monetary policy in
the near future.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.46 points to 26,504, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3% to close at 2,926.46. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.4% to 7,987.32.
The
Fed kept interest rates unchanged at the meeting, as was widely
expected. While not outright signaling a cut was ahead this year, the
Fed did drop the word “patient ” from its statement and said it would “act as appropriate” to sustain the economy.
The
central bank’s rate projections, released alongside the statement on
Wednesday, showed that eight Fed members see a cut this year, which
traders took as further sign the central bank was close to cutting
rates. Its median forecast, however, still reflected no cuts this year,
but additional easing in 2020.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell also said in a news conference after the announcement that some Fed officials believed the case for easier monetary policy had strengthened.
Health care stocks, which typically perform well after the Fed cuts rates, were the best performers on Wednesday. The sector rose 1%, led by gains in Allergan and DaVita.
“This was our baseline scenario. The Fed opened the door for cuts. They
maintained some independence from some of the outreach for lower rates
coming out of the administration,” said Gregory Faranello, head of U.S.
rates at AmeriVet Securities. “Short term, it’s going to depend on the
data. If the data warrants a cut, the chairman is saying the Fed is
prepared to adjust policy.”
Treasury yields fell following the
announcement, pressuring bank shares. The benchmark 10-year yield traded
down at 2.02%. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of
America all traded lower.
Traders are pricing in easier monetary
policy as soon as July. They were also betting on rate cuts coming in
September and December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks at the Economic Club of Washington January 10, 2019 in Washington, DC.
Win McNamee | Getty Images
Expectations
of lower rates helped the market rebound this month after a torrid
performance in May. The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq are all up more than
6% in June.
Those expectations increased amid lingering trade
worries and weaker economic data. China and the U.S. hiked tariffs on
billions of dollars worth of their goods, stoking fears that tighter
trade conditions could slow down the global economy.
“It feels
like the Fed doesn’t know how to react to that,” said Kevin Barry, Kevin
Barry, chief investment officer at Captrust Advisors. “The main actors
are Trump and Xi. If they are trying to increase animal spirits, then
cutting rates won’t do that. Trump is the one that can increase animal
spirits, not the Fed.”
“Animal spirits will be increased by a settlement between China and the U.S.,” he said.
The Fed’s meeting came after Bloomberg News reported the White House looked for a way to demote Powell earlier this year. Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters Tuesday that Trump is not planning to demote Powell, however.
Powell said in the news conference that he intends to fully serve his four-year term, noting “the law is clear ” on the matter.
—CNBC’s Silvia Amaro and John Melloy contributed to this report. Source: CNBC
The
dollar weakened against other major currencies on Wednesday after the
Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its regular meeting.
The dollar index,
which measures the currency against a basket of six rivals, was down
0.51% to 97.148. The drop slowed however as the market digested the news
and some initial losses were retraced.
Against the euro, the dollar was down 0.46% to $1.124 , and against the pound it was down 0.8% to $1.267.
In
response to the announcement, investors moved money out of safe-haven
assets like the dollar and U.S. Treasuries and into stocks.
President
Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would have an extended meeting with
Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit later this month,
raising hopes they can ease tensions in a trade dispute that has
damaged the world economy.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer on Wednesday said he and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin will likely meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He ahead of the G20
summit in Japan later this month.
UBS Wealth Management said that
the dollar could rise against the yen if the Fed were less dovish than
expected or the G20 summit ends with a temporary U.S.-China trade war
truce
“A bounce toward 110 would make adding short USDJPY
positions attractive,” UBS said. “We expect USDJPY to grind lower as
U.S. growth slows and as U.S.-China trade tensions persist.”
The yen stood little changed at 108.13 yen per dollar.
U.S. government debt yields slipped Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady in June.
Though the central bank maintained the target overnight lending rate,
that decision was accompanied by a growing number of officials open to
one rate cut by the end of 2019 with eight members in favor. However,
the consensus still didn’t expect a reduction until 2020 at the
earliest.
At around 2:19 p.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note,
which moves inversely to price, was lower at around 2.044%, while the
yield on the 2-year slipped to 1.811%. The 3-month Treasury bill yield
ticked lower to 2.195%, keeping a portion of the yield curve inverted.
The
policymaking committee of the Fed also dropped the word “patient” from
its statement, a sign interpreted by some investors as a hint that the
central bank hasn’t abandoned the idea of a rate cut in 2019. The Fed
tweaked its statement to acknowledge that inflation is “running below”
its 2% objective.
“It was largely what the market was looking
for: I don’t think they went too far as to spook the market in any way,”
said Tom Garretson, a fixed-income strategist at RBC. “Seeing that
eight [officials] are seeing a rate cut this year was dovish.”
“This is mostly an inflation story,” he added. “If you look at GDP
forecast for 2020 they’re up to 2% from 1.9% ... even if they were
worried about tariffs, it didn’t show up in their forecast.”
Softer economic gauges like May’s anemic jobs report — which showed that the U.S. economy added just 75,000 positions — and a lackluster consumer pricing print
suggested to economists and fixed-income traders earlier this month
that the central bank may have to assure markets of its willingness to
step in if GDP growth decelerates.
Traders are now pricing in a
more than 80% chance of a rate cut in July and 70% probability of
another reduction in September, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch
tool.
The
Fed has in recent months been grappling with a consistent shortfall in
inflation relative to its self-imposed 2% target. The Fed’s preferred
inflation gauge, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price
index, increased 1.6% in the year to April after gaining 1.5% in March.
Treasury
inflation-protected securities — bonds whose payouts are indexed to
consumer prices — show that price growth expectations have slid in
recent months. Inflation is a threat to the value of a bond’s fixed
coupon and principal payments.
Wednesday’s decision from the
Federal Open Market Committee came after President Donald Trump’s
repeated criticism of the Fed and Jerome Powell specifically for raising
rates and tightening monetary conditions over the last year. Trump, who
sees recent Fed policy as damaging to American markets and undermining his bargaining position in trade talks, has broken with tradition in his frequent and vocal criticism of the central bank.
Asked
Tuesday whether he wants to remove Powell as Fed Chair, Trump said
“Let’s see what he does.” Trump’s comments came after Bloomberg News
reported Tuesday morning that the White House had looked into demoting
Powell in February.
Trump also said Tuesday he will be having an
“extended meeting” next week with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the
G-20 meeting in Japan.
Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Tuesday that the central bank may need to ease monetary policy in the coming months if inflation doesn’t bounce back toward its target.
“In the absence of improvement, such that the sustained return of
inflation to our aim is threatened, additional stimulus will be
required,” Draghi said. — CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed reporting.
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