Latest news with #Hassett
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Officials eye fall opening of Fort Frankfort conversion
Fun, excitement and, yes, even a few scraped knees are in store in the coming months for younger residents in Frankfort. The facelift of the Fort Frankfort playground in Commissioners Park, 22108 S. 80th Ave., began in December and Park District officials hope a majority of the work will be completed by Labor Day, Sept. 1. An official opening for the playground is in limbo. The near-$2 million project received $1.7 million of state money courtesy of state Sen. Michael Hastings, who is anxious to see the project completed. 'It is a place where memories are made, scraped knees happen and imaginations run wild,' Hastings said in a statement. 'Fort Frankfort is shaping up to be just that.' Frankfort Park District Executive Director Gina Hassett said Fort Frankfort was a community-built project in 1999. Much of it was made of wood and scorching summers and bitter-cold winters took its toll on it. The old playground was torn down and the new one will be inclusive with a main play area plus standalone pieces including a musical play ensemble. There will be two shelters, an entry plaza with a custom wood arch, traditional and modern swings, play art, a sensory garden, perimeter fencing with plantings, a freestanding spinner, a freestanding climber and a shade tree. 'This will be a 98% inclusive playground,' Hassett said. 'We will have ramps to go up to the play equipment. It will be inclusive for all abilities, so we are super excited about that.' One of the shelters is already built. Many of the standalone areas have been complete. The entranceway and main play area will get the most attention in August. Between 75-125 community members helped build the original playground in 1999, using private financing. It was completed Oct. 17 that year. Even younger residents contributed to the cause as they voted on the name of the playground. 'It was built by Frankfort residents and it remains a special place for members of the community,' Hassett said. 'It's multigenerational at this point.' But a few decades ago, it was cheaper to build a playground. Not so much now. 'My worry was when the playground was nearing its end of life, would we go back to the residents and have a fundraising campaign?' Hassett said. 'Back then, I think the playground equipment cost about $200,000. Now it's in the millions.' So the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity grant facilitated by Hastings was huge for a Park District that Hassett said is underfunded compared to others in the area. A splash pad near the fort has been open during the construction this summer. The Park District received $350,000 in 2022 to upgrade the splash pad and that got the ball rolling on several Commissioners Park projects. Hassett said the village has received $1.6 million to expand a bike and pedestrian trail and connect it with Commissioners Park. Hassett said the park is figuratively on its own island and this is a good way to connect it to the rest of the village. Frankfort Mayor Keith Ogle in May said it will be an important link for residents on the south side of the village to be able to bike or walk to the historic downtown area. Ogle is hoping the new trail will be complete next summer. Meanwhile, more big things regarding Commissioners Park and some of the other parks in Frankfort are on the horizon. The Park District will host a Back to School Bash from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 14 at Commissioners Park and Hastings is expected to deliver news at the event of more than $5 million of grant money for various park projects. Details on the projects have not been released. For now, Hastings is focusing on Fort Frankfort. 'We are building something pretty special here in Frankfort and across the south suburbs,' he said. 'It's more than bricks and lumber. It is about giving our kids a place to grow up proud of where they are from.' He also gave kudos to some of the workers from Countryside-based Schwartz Excavating for 'sweating in the summer, putting in the work and doing it right. You guys are the real deal.'
Irish Independent
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Promising young Wicklow camogie side no match for Laois in All-Ireland semi-final
Last year's beaten finalists took care of business against Wicklow with a facile 4-15 to 0-3 victory, while Armagh turned on the after-burners in the second half of their match against Roscommon to prevail by 2-17 to 1-8. Laois were pretty much assured of their final berth at half-time, building up an unassailable 3-9 to 0-3 lead at the interval. The die was cast inside two minutes when Susie Delaney found the net after the Portlaoise forward's initial effort was saved by Wicklow goalkeeper Leanne Lifely. Wicklow competed well in the opening quarter and were given encouragement when Ciara Connolly, Sophie Bermingham (free) and Sive Byrne found the target. But Laois flexed their muscles further, hitting an answered 2-5 before the break. Both goals came from full-forward and player of the match Aimee Collier — the first coming from the penalty spot after the elusive Delaney was fouled bearing down on goal. Then, in the 28th minute, Eimear Hassett's long-range point attempt was batted into the path of Collier, and she made no mistake from close range. There was still time for the full-forward line of Collier, Hassett and Delaney to add further points to leave Laois in the box seat at the change of ends, leading by 15 points. Laois never relented defensively in the second half, so much so that Wicklow didn't have their first attempt on goal until the 17th minute of the half. Gráinne Delaney demonstrated her side's intent with a score less than ten seconds after the throw-in. Collier added a free before Eimear Hassett grabbed a score that summed up her side's tenacity, winning back possession before splitting the posts from 30 metres. ADVERTISEMENT Collier stretched her side's lead with another free before Hassett produced a tidy finish for Laois' fourth goal in the 38th minute. Lifely produced a smart save to deny Kirsten Keenan but the Laois centre-forward did get her name on the scoresheet when she pointed after great work from Hassett and Collier. Amy Daly marked her introduction with a point as the one-way traffic continued — Laois leading by 4-15 to 0-3 entering the final ten minutes. Wicklow kept plugging away and Aedin Lowry had to produce a smart save to deny Sive Byrne, while a close-range free from Sophie Bermingham was snuffed out by the Laois defence. There were no further scores as Laois returned to the final. Wicklow are at a different stage in their development compared to Laois, but manager Rob O'Neill feels that a notable upward move is on the horizon. 'The average age of the Wicklow team is around 19 or 20. Our half-back line, who were outstanding, were made up of 17-year-olds. 'The quantity and quality of players that are coming through the ranks from underage in Wicklow is phenomenal. 'It won't be too long before Wicklow are challenging for national titles. 'Take nothing away from Laois who are a serious outfit and are probably expecting nothing less than an All-Ireland title, but my focus is on Wicklow. 'We're in a rebuilding cycle. We talk about individuals winning games and teams winning championships. That's what we're looking at — we're looking to put together a championship-winning team.'
Telegraph
16-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Kevin vs Kevin: Trump's front-runners to lead the Fed
Donald Trump's hunt for the next chair of the Federal Reserve is becoming a battle between two Kevins. Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, said on Tuesday that Trump had begun the 'formal process' to line up a replacement for Jerome Powell, the Fed boss who has enraged the president by refusing to cut interest rates. 'It's President Trump's decision, and it will move at his speed,' Bessent told Bloomberg. Trump has long been at war with Powell, who he has publicly branded a 'numbskull', 'a stupid guy' and a 'knucklehead' for ignoring the president's endless demands to slash interest rates. 'Consumer Prices LOW. Bring down the Fed Rate, NOW!!!' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday, despite official figures showing a rise in inflation in June. In April, Trump's threats that he would sack Powell triggered a slump in US stocks, a jump in borrowing costs and sent the dollar tumbling to a three-year low amid concerns about threat to the Fed's independence. The market rout pushed Trump to row back on his threats and tell reporters: 'I have no intention of firing him', a line the president has stuck to since. But Powell's term expires either way in May 2026. Speculation is mounting that Trump will try to undermine Powell by announcing his replacement early. Whoever replaces board member Adriana Kugler when her term ends in January could be the new Fed chair-in-waiting. Names in the ring include Bessent and Fed board member Christopher Waller. But two front-runners are said to have emerged: Kevin Hassett, the director of Trump's National Economic Council, and Kevin Warsh, who was previously a contender as Trump's pick for treasury secretary. Hassett met with the president at least twice in June to discuss his potential appointment as chair, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, Warsh was said to be Trump's favoured pick earlier in the year and is still thought to be in the running. The economic outsider One Kevin, Hassett, is a long-time inhabitant of Trump's orbit who knows how to speak to the president. The other has a reputation as a Wall Street whisperer with gold-plated Republican connections. Both would struggle to convince markets that they'd maintain the Fed's ability to set interest rates free from government interference. Hassett is a PhD economist who is what Joe Brusuelas, RSM US's chief economist, terms 'a creature of the Beltway', referring to the highway that encircles the US capital. He is also part of Trump's old guard. Hassett had a stint as an economist at the Fed during the 1990s before moving into the political sphere. He worked as an economic adviser on the presidential campaigns of George W Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney and has held various roles in think tanks. He served in Trump's first administration as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) for two years and then as a senior adviser. During the pandemic, Hassett was behind a fateful chart posted on social media by the CEA that was widely interpreted as a government forecast that Covid deaths would fall to zero by May 15 2020 (more than 1m Americans died of Covid after this date). Hassett later said the chart was not a forecast but was only supposed to be illustrative of a formula. In between the Trump administrations, Hassett took a role at the private equity firm set up by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. In the new administration, he has played a key role in the economic arguments for tax cuts in the 'one, big, beautiful bill'. 'I have always been a little suspicious of his work because I fear that it's starting with a position and then trying to defend it,' says David Wessel, director of The Hutchins Centre on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. Hassett seems to consider himself a spokesman for the president rather than as an adviser who might challenge him, says Wessel. 'He has had no reluctance to go on TV and defend whatever Trump does.' As such, the 63-year-old will have a hard time convincing markets that he will credibly maintain the Fed's independence, says Wessel. He may also struggle to secure the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)'s votes on interest rate decisions. 'He has taken such firm positions that are sometimes outside what many economists think, I think that people at the Fed would be suspicious of arguments he makes that appear to be to defend something that Trump wants him to do,' says Wessel. On Sunday, Hassett told ABC that Trump had the authority to fire Powell. 'That's a thing that's being looked into, but certainly if there's cause, he does.' Hassett's comments were in stark contrast to remarks he made in an October interview with the Financial Times when he said that during Trump's first term, 'I was sure that the Fed chair couldn't be fired by the president as a matter of law'. He has been deeply critical of the Fed and suggested in an interview with Fox last week that the Fed had made a political decision to keep interest rates higher than other central banks (the European Central Bank's policy rate is now 2pc, compared to the Fed's 4.5pc rate). 'That raises the spectre that they're not being non-partisan,' Hassett said. The hawk turned Trumpist Kevin Warsh, 55, will face similar challenges convincing markets he is not in the pocket of the president, but he has a reputation as a charmer who understands Wall Street. After stints at Stanford, Harvard Law and Morgan Stanley, Warsh emerged as a kind of political prodigy in Bush's White House. Aged just 35, he became the youngest appointee to the Fed's board of governors in the central bank's history in 2006. Warsh played a crucial role during the financial crisis as then-chair Ben Bernanke's emissary to investment bankers and the Republican Party. While Bernanke was cerebral and introverted, Warsh was outgoing, practical and had a golden Rolodex, says Wessel. Married to Jane Lauder, an heir to the Estée Lauder fortune whom he had met at Stanford, Warsh was also wealthier than all of his fellow governors combined. This marriage also meant that Ronald Lauder, the Republican donor and a long-term friend of Trump, became Warsh's father-in-law. Warsh could speak the language of investment bankers, has a natural sense of politics and a knack for intelligence gathering, says Wessel. But since Warsh has not done a huge amount since he left the Fed in 2011. He is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and lectures at Stanford's graduate business school, has a selection of board and advisory roles and was a contender for Trump's pick as treasury secretary. But he is not running a fund or a company. He is, however, very public about his criticism of the Fed, who he has blamed for driving up inflation during the pandemic. Warsh has long had a personal reputation as a hawk, meaning he is someone who generally advocates for stronger action to bring inflation down. But now he has apparently changed tack in line with the president's calls for rate cuts. In an interview with Fox Business on Sunday, Warsh said the Fed 'has the policy mix exactly wrong' and that 'rates are too high'. 'It needs to shrink the Fed balance sheet and cut interest rates,' Warsh said. The irony of Trump's recent storm of threats to the Fed is that markets will be jittery about whomever the president appoints as the next chairman. Powell's successor may have to take an even tougher stance than he has simply to keep markets – primarily Treasury yields – under control. This could mean voting to hold interest rates for even longer than expected. Kush Desai, the White House's deputy press secretary, says: 'President Trump has been clear about the need for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy to complement the administration's pro-growth agenda. 'He will continue to nominate the most qualified individuals who can best serve the American people.'
Straits Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Kevin Hassett grabs pole position in race to be Trump's new Fed Chair
Mr Kevin Hassett, one of US President Donald Trump's longest-serving economic aides, is the early frontrunner to replace Mr Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chief next year, according to people familiar with the process. Mr Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, and Mr Kevin Warsh are the top two contenders in an Apprentice-like contest run by Mr Trump out of the White House. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is advising on selection – but could get the job himself if others fail to impress – while Fed governor Christopher Waller remains the dark horse, said people familiar with the deliberations. Mr Trump has raised the succession stakes by routinely blasting Mr Powell for keeping interest rates too high, and saying he will pick a Fed chair who wants to cut them. It has left investors worried that the central bank's autonomy from political pressure – key to its ability to fight inflation and support the dollar – is in growing danger. Mr Hassett has echoed Mr Trump's Fed critique. In a Fox Business interview this month, he noted that the central bank is an independent agency. But he said that by cutting rates before last year's presidential election – and then keeping them on hold more recently, citing inflation risk from tariffs – it deserved the president's barbs. 'I think that that raises the spectre that they're not being non-partisan, they're not being independent,' he said. 'There to serve' Once seen as a measured right-leaning economist, aligned with politicians like Mr Mitt Romney, Mr Hassett has been in the Trump orbit for close to a decade now. He has approached the National Economic Council job very differently from predecessors like Mr Gary Cohn, who sought to damp down the president's impulses on tariffs – and did not last long. Mr Hassett has gone full Maga instead – amplifying Mr Trump's instincts on trade, taxes, inflation or the Fed, in myriad TV appearances. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business US tariffs may last well after Trump; crucial for countries to deepen trade ties: SM Lee World Trump says Indonesia to face 19% tariff under trade deal Singapore 'Kpods broke our marriage, shattered our children': Woman on husband's vape addiction Singapore Las Vegas Sands' new development part of S'pore's broader, more ambitious transformation: PM Wong Multimedia Telling the Singapore story for 180 years Life Walking for exercise? Here are tips on how to do it properly Singapore CDL's long-time director Philip Yeo to depart after boardroom feud Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years That is what it takes in Trumpworld, according to Mr Stephen Myrow, who runs Beacon Policy Advisers, a Washington research firm. 'Anyone who has survived this long under Trump, they're not coming in with an ideology that they want to advance,' Mr Myrow said. 'They're not there to serve a school of monetary thought. They're there to serve Trump.' What remains to be seen is how that service ethos applies to the next Fed chair – a job that is supposed to be walled off from administration priorities. It is a multi-trillion-dollar question. Economists say autonomous central banks are better at taming inflation, so a Fed chief seen as acquiescent to the White House could trigger a slump in Treasury markets. Mr Trump's threats to fire Mr Powell have added to financial jitters set off by his trade war. The president has taken the opposite tack, arguing that excessive Fed rates add hundreds of billions a year to America's debt service costs. 'Most qualified individuals' The process of choosing Mr Powell is officially under way, Mr Bessent told Bloomberg TV on July 15. Along with the Treasury chief, the narrow circle of aides involved include White House chief-of-staff Susie Wiles – who has advised on Mr Trump's key hiring decisions, and is steeped in the politics of trying to ensure the US economy is thriving by next year's mid-term elections. Trump allies say the president is deeply engaged in the choice. One adviser predicted the interview process would move quickly, since the president tends to act once he gets an idea in his head. Mr Hassett has been telling people both inside and outside the administration that he very much wants the job – though he plays it coy when asked on TV. He did not respond to requests for comment. Mr Trump, asked by reporters on July 15 if Mr Bessent is the No. 1 contender to lead the Fed, said that he is 'an option' and complimented the Treasury secretary for 'the job he's doing'. 'With Joe Biden's inflation crisis firmly past us, President Trump has been clear about the need for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy to complement the administration's pro-growth agenda,' said White House spokesman Kush Desai. 'He will continue to nominate the most qualified individuals who can best serve the American people.' As NEC chief, Mr Hassett benefits from daily proximity to the president, with an office in the West Wing. Mr Warsh by contrast, spends much of his time shuttling between the Hoover Institution in California and New York City. Mr Trump interviewed Mr Warsh – a former Fed governor – for the chair role in 2017, but opted for Mr Powell instead because he thought Mr Warsh's views were too hawkish and he looked too young for the job. Mr Hassett served as the head of the Council of Economic Advisers during Mr Trump's first term. His earlier career includes stints as a Fed economist and at the American Enterprise Institute, where he was director of research. He is known as an expert on tax, and has written widely on the topic. But perhaps his most notorious book was Dow 36,000, predicting a surge in the US stock market, which was published shortly before the dotcom bubble burst. The Dow eventually hit the level predicted in his title more than two decades later. 'Very confusing' During Mr Trump's years in exile in Florida between his first and second terms, Mr Hassett – who was doing some work for Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's investment fund Affinity Partners at the time – also frequently got together with Mr Trump to talk through economic ideas. Both men share a similar approach to the world and a tendency to store up grievances based on perceived slights, said one longtime friend of Mr Hassett. Mr Trump has been voicing grievances with Mr Powell almost ever since naming him to the top Fed job. Complaints have escalated into open anger during Mr Trump's second term, when he nicknamed Mr Powell 'Too Late' and often resorted to harsher insults . Mr Powell's Fed has kept interest rates unchanged this year, after lowering them by a percentage point over the last few months of 2024. US central bankers say there is no rush to cut further, pointing to solid growth and a healthy job market, and arguing that they need time to see whether tariffs will boost inflation, like most economists expect. So far, consumer prices have not seen much of a tariff jump – though there were signs in the June numbers, published on July 15, that companies are beginning to pass on trade-related costs. That has reinforced expectations that the Fed will stand pat again at its next rates meeting on July 29-30. Markets still expect a couple of cuts by year-end. Echoing Mr Trump's 'too late' jibe, Mr Hassett accused the Fed in his Fox interview of 'falling behind the curve' compared to what other central banks are doing. He has also joined other Trump aides and Republican lawmakers in voicing alarm about the rising costs of the Fed's headquarter renovations – which has become the president's latest stick to beat Mr Powell with. One goal may be to pressure Mr Powell to leave the Fed board when his tenure as chair ends in May next year – rather than staying on in the role of governor, where his term extends into 2028. The administration's argument is essentially that Mr Trump's Fed pick – whether it's Mr Hassett or someone else – needs a clear run at the job. 'Traditionally, the Fed chair also steps down as a governor,' Mr Bessent told Bloomberg TV on July 15. 'There's been a lot of talk of a shadow Fed chair causing confusion in advance of his or her nomination. And I can tell you, I think it'd be very confusing for the market for a former Fed chair to stay on also.' BLOOMBERG
CNBC
15-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
U.S. Treasurys fall ahead of key June inflation data
U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday ahead of key inflation figures due later on Tuesday which may offer further insights into the Federal Reserve's potential interest rate moves. At 4:41 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was about one basis point lower at 4.419%, and the 30-year yield was lower by more than one basis point at 4.958%. The 2-year yield was flat at 3.9%. One basis point is 0.01%. Yields and prices have an inverse relationship. Economists surveyed by Reuters anticipate that headline inflation for June will pick up to 2.7% on an annual basis, up from 2.4% in May. Core inflation is also projected to increase to 3.0% from 2.8%. "If tariffs begin to show up clearly in the US June CPI data ... U.S. bond markets could sell off to reflect the higher inflation risk brought about by [U.S. President Donald] Trump's recent tariff escalation," Eastspring Investments analysts experts wrote in a note published Tuesday. In comparison, a softer than expected core consumer price index number will risk leading the U.S. administration to view higher tariffs as a "costless source" of revenue to pay for some of the tax cuts in the "big beautiful bill," the consultancy added. Investors are also eyeing developments after White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Sunday that the Trump administration is looking into whether it has the authority to dismiss Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. "But certainly, if there's cause, he does," Hassett said on ABC News' "This Week." Although Trump has publicly stated he does not intend to fire Powell, Hassett's remarks indicate the White House is still exploring the option.
