Syrians rejoice after Trump pledge to lift crippling sanctions
For years, the U.S. government insisted that its sanctions targeted the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad, a dictator who presided over a devastating civil war. But ultimately the measures, which cut Syria off from the global financial system, strangled the country's economy, triggered hyperinflation, weakened the health system and left the poorest living hand-to-mouth.
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Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump set to announce replacement for Fed Gov Kugler this week. The Fed chair in waiting?
President Trump said he plans to name a replacement this week for Federal Reserve governor Adriana Kugler, whose unexpected resignation set for this Friday offers the president an opportunity to put in place a successor for Fed Chair Jerome Powell. 'I have a couple of people in mind,' President Trump told reporters Sunday night. 'I'll be announcing that probably over the next couple of days.' Kugler's term as a governor was set to expire on Jan. 31. She has served as a Fed governor since Sept. 13, 2023, and will return to Georgetown University as a professor this fall. Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor, and Kevin Hassett, the current chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, are thought to be at the top of the list for the next Fed chair and thus possible nominees to replace Kugler. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the search for Powell's replacement and is also a potential contender, has already sketched out a scenario where the White House appoints someone to fill Kugler's seat who can then be in the running to succeed Powell next May. The White House also hopes that Powell decides to leave the Fed Board of Governors when his chairmanship is up, which would open up a second seat that Trump can fill. Powell has not yet said whether he intends to do that; his term as a Fed governor is not up until 2028. Read more: How much control does the president have over the Fed and interest rates? Warsh already has a lot of experience navigating the central bank. He served as Fed governor from 2006 until 2011 and became former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's liaison to Wall Street during the chaos of the 2008 financial crisis. He is also a known figure to Trump, who interviewed him for the Fed chair post eight years ago before deciding on Powell. Trump appointed Powell to be Fed chair in 2018 at the direction of then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Former President Joe Biden reappointed Powell in 2022. Warsh has been critical of the Fed as of late. He has suggested that the Fed could look through increases in inflation from tariffs because it would be a one-time increase in prices. He's also argued that the costs involved in renovating the Fed's headquarters represent one of several examples of how the Fed "has lost its way" and that the American people "need a reformer to fix" the institution and rebuild its credibility. "Frankly, it's about breaking some heads," he said on Fox Business last month, calling for "regime change." Back in April, Warsh gave a speech in Washington, D.C., in which he said that the Fed's "current wounds are largely self-inflicted" and called for a "strategic reset" to ease a loss of credibility and damage to the Fed's standing. Hassett, meanwhile, already has a close relationship with Trump, given that he advises the president on economic policy and also served in the first Trump administration. Read more: How jobs, inflation, and the Fed are all related Earlier in the year, Hassett said he was more focused on the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) than on any quick monetary policy changes at the Federal Reserve. While the Fed can influence short-term bond yields and long-term bond yields, longer-term bond yields are influenced by many factors outside the Fed, and it is the yield on the 10-year Treasury that influences mortgage rates. But lately, Hassett has been more blatant, saying there's no reason why the Fed shouldn't be cutting rates now, something the president has repeatedly hammered the central bank to do. The president will likely watch whoever he appoints to the open Fed governor position to see how they perform and whether they'd be a successor for Powell, whose term ends next May. Though Fed governors Chris Waller and Michelle Bowman are also jockeying for the position of Fed chair, in part by dissenting at last week's Fed policy meeting in favor of cutting rates by 25 basis points, rather than holding rates steady. The opportunity for the White House to fill Kugler's seat earlier than expected comes as Trump applies pressure on Powell and the Fed board to lower rates by as many as 3 percentage points. Whoever the president appoints, it is the Federal Open Market Committee, which is composed of 19 members, that makes the decision, not just the Fed chair, and the new chair will have to contend with the committee. Jennifer Schonberger is a veteran financial journalist covering markets, the economy, and investing. At Yahoo Finance she covers the Federal Reserve, Congress, the White House, the Treasury, the SEC, the economy, cryptocurrencies, and the intersection of Washington policy with finance. Follow her on X @Jenniferisms and on Instagram. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Morning Joe': Trump's Handling of Weak Jobs Report Would Be ‘Unthinkable a Decade Ago'
The MSNBC anchors and commentators warn Trump's firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics data chief will lead to further distrust of U.S. job reports The 'Morning Joe' crew on Monday warned that Donald Trump's firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer will raise further scrutiny into the employment numbers released under the new leadership. The president fired McEntarfer on Friday after suggesting that weaker-than-expected jobs report was 'rigged.' More from TheWrap 'Morning Joe': Trump's Handling of Weak Jobs Report Would Be 'Unthinkable a Decade Ago' | Video Wondery CEO Jen Sargent to Exit as Amazon Restructures Podcasting Studio Jacob Soboroff to Join MSNBC as Senior Political Correspondent Ahead of Comcast Spinoff 'Scamanda' Creator Charlie Webster Returns With New Scammer Podcast, 'Unicorn Girl' | Exclusive 'When the numbers are good, he praises them,' Jonathan Lemire said on 'Morning Joe' Monday. 'When the numbers are bad, he gets angry, and he fires the person in charge.' Earlier this year, Trump praised the bureau's job reports – but after Friday's numbers were released he said they were rigged in favor of Democrats, noting that he is looking for 'an exceptional replacement' after he deemed the numbers subpar. 'This would have been unthinkable a decade ago before Trump came on the scene,' NYT Opinion writer Mara Gay told Lemire.'This is another example of American exceptionalism out the window.' She said that the implications of this decision will affect the credibility of the United States as a democracy. She pointed to other examples in modern history of Greece, Argentina and China, stating that their leaders fudged the numbers to appease their world leaders. Gay added that inflating publicly reported numbers will not affect the American economy – it will only cause more unrest internally. 'What Americans can expect is to see the United States lose its sense of confidence in facts and also just excellence … the political reality will catch up with him,' Gay said of Trump's refusal to accept that the economy is weakening because of his tariffs. Andrew Ross Sorkin warned that Trump's decision will stir greater distrust of facts amongst world leaders. 'Invariably when those numbers [reported by the Chinese government] come out, there are conversations about what are the real numbers,' Sorkin said. 'Nobody believes the numbers that the Chinese government provides. That is the fear about what's about to happen here in the United States.' Senior writer at 'The Dispatch' David Drucker rebutted Trump's claim that the numbers are in favor of Democrats, pointing specifically to what he called a 'horrendous' job report from President Joe Biden's administration ahead of the 2024 election. 'When the president talks about rigged numbers and that it was rigged in favor of the Democrats right before the last election, it's just flatly untrue,' David Drucker said. He said the September report ahead of the election reported worse employment numbers than Friday's report that caused Trump to fire the data chief. 'Morning Joe' anchor Joe Scarborough added that there are several examples in modern history of the practical impacts of misconstruing numbers in favor of the individual in power. 'You don't have to go to the Soviet Union to just look at the practical impacts of when leaders start to fudge the numbers,' Scarborough said. The post 'Morning Joe': Trump's Handling of Weak Jobs Report Would Be 'Unthinkable a Decade Ago' | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
USA Today
4 minutes ago
- USA Today
As Trump pushes tariffs, sons back firm aimed at 'revitalizing' US manufacturing
President Donald Trump's eldest sons are involved in a new business venture aimed partly at 'revitalizing American manufacturing' as their father pursues protectionist economic policies with the same goal. New America Acquisition I Corp, a blank-check firm backed by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., on Aug. 4 filed for an initial public offering of up to $300 million. The special purpose acquisition company, a vehicle previously used by the family to launch firearms retailers and media firms, aims to merge with businesses headquartered or primarily operating in the U.S., it said in a filing. The filing declares the firm is pursing mergers with one or more companies valued at $700 million or more "that play a meaningful role in revitalizing domestic manufacturing, expanding innovation ecosystems and strengthening critical supply chains.' 'Our objective is to target businesses that are not only well-positioned for long-term, sustainable growth, but also deeply aligned with the advancement of U.S. industrial capacity, technological leadership and innovation, and economic resilience," according to the filing. The Trump administration is pursuing an aggressive tariff program on goods coming into the United States, and there are levies on many manufactured products. Trump has encouraged companies to move their manufacturing to the United States. The new SPAC, incorporated in Florida, is the latest Trump family business in a sector the president is seeking to boost. The family is involved in crypto ventures, including a 60% stake in crypto platform World Liberty Financial, working to profit on crypto while the Trump administration pursues favorable policies for the industry. Eric and Trump Jr. will both serve on the advisory board for New America, receiving a combined 5 million shares in the company. Media veteran Kevin McGurn will lead the company. SPACs are shell companies that use their IPO proceeds to merge with a private company, thereby taking it public while avoiding the regulatory scrutiny of a traditional listing. New America said it would offer 30 million units in its IPO priced at $10 each, aiming to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Contributing: Reuters
