US bond markets should be in revolt. Fed independence matters | Nils Pratley

Well said, Jerome Powell. The chair of the US Federal Reserve responded to news of a subpoena from the US Department of Justice with a statement that was extraordinary, necessary and stark.A criminal investigation into the Fed, and him personally, over the renovation of the central bank’s headquarters is an attempt to bully officials into setting policy according to the president’s whims, said Powell.“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” he said.It definitely needed to be spelled out

Ex-Fed chairs condemn Trump’s bid to weaken central bank’s independence

Every living former head of the Federal Reserve condemned an “unprecedented” attempt by the Trump administration to weaken the US central bank’s independence, after the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into its chair, Jerome Powell.Ex-Fed chairs Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen warned similar prosecutorial attacks in other countries had led to “highly negative consequences” for the cost of living – and argued they had “no place” in the US.Late on Sunday, it emerged that the justice department had served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas on Friday, threatening a criminal indictment related to Powell’s testimony before the Senate banking committee in June last year, regarding renovations to the Fed’s historic office buildings in Washington DC.In response, Powell argued he had been threatened with criminal charges because the Fed had set interest rates “based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president”.Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney in Washington and an ally of Donald Trump said in a statement on Monday night that the justice department took legal action because the Federal Reserve had ignored requests to discuss cost overruns in a project to renovate two historical buildings at its headquarters

Trump’s attempts to influence Fed risk 1970s-style inflation and global backlash’

Donald Trump’s attempts to influence the US Federal Reserve could risk plunging America into a period of 1970s-style inflation and trigger a global backlash in financial markets, economists have warned.After the US Department of Justice (DoJ) launched a criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, the current Fed chair, investors said efforts by the White House to pressure the US central bank to cut interest rates would put the world economy at risk.Analysts drew parallels with the 1970s when US inflation soared after the then president, Richard Nixon, pressured the then Fed chair, Arthur Burns, to ease monetary policy to help smooth his 1972 election campaign.Atakan Bakiskan, US economist at Berenberg bank, said: “If the Fed pursues an ultra-accommodative monetary policy despite higher inflation, the result could resemble the 1970s in a worst-case risk scenario.“Moreover, if the Fed acts on politics rather than data, foreign investors could pull back on financing the US debt and seek new safe havens

Criminal investigation into Fed chair Powell has ‘reinforced’ concerns over independence, Goldman Sachs warns, as dollar weakens – as it happened

Goldman Sachs’ chief economist Jan Hatzius has warned this morning that the criminal indictment threat facing Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell has reinforced worries that central bank independence is being undermined.Reuters reports that Hatzius told a 2026 Goldman Sachs Global Strategy Conference:“Obviously there are more concerns that Fed independence is going to be under the gun, with the latest news on the criminal investigation into Chair Powell really having reinforced those concerns.”Hatzius added, though, that he expected the Fed to continue to make decisions based on data:“I have no doubt that he (Powell) in his remaining term as chair is going to make decisions based on the economic data and not be influenced one way or the other, cutting more or refusing to cut on the back of data that could push in that direction.”Our US politics liveblog is taking up the coverage of the Federal Reserve, here:Here’s a wrap up….The worsening relations between the US Federal Reserve and the White House have triggered fears that the independence of America’s central bank is being threatened

Paramount to nominate directors to Warner Bros board to vote against Netflix deal

Paramount Skydance plans to nominate directors to Warner Bros Discovery’s (WBD) board to vote against the approval of its deal with Netflix, and filed a lawsuit seeking disclosure of financial information related to the $82.7bn (£61.4bn) agreement.In a letter sent to WBD investors on Monday, Paramount said it would nominate directors for election at the company’s annual meeting, which is usually held in June, to try to derail the deal with Netflix, which was agreed in December.To win what is known as a proxy fight, Paramount will have to convince enough WBD investors to cast their votes in favour of its nominees and replace existing, or new, directors proposed by WBD’s board

Major incident declared as 30,000 homes left without water in Kent and Sussex

A major incident has been declared after 30,000 homes in Kent and Sussex were left without water.People in areas including Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury and Maidstone have been without water for as long as five days.Schools and libraries across Kent and Sussex have closed for the day as they do not have running water. The Queen Victoria hospital in East Grinstead has been forced to carry out some appointments virtually.South East Water blamed the cold weather and Storm Goretti for the supply problems