The situation with Powell seems to be evolving into the best scenario we discussed regarding Trump: that Powell voluntarily resigns. The issue of overspending on the renovation of the Federal Reserve building could be escalated, and overspending can be seen as misconduct; false statements during congressional hearings could be classified as perjury (any ambiguity from Powell on certain key points could fall into the broad category of false statements). Then, through the media, this could be amplified indefinitely, shifting the focus from the monetary policy path dispute to misconduct and false statements, creating immense public pressure on Powell to force him to resign voluntarily. It remains to be seen whether Powell will continue to resist and uphold the historical mission of the Federal Reserve's independence, or if he will succumb to the pressure and resign. If Powell truly cannot withstand the pressure and resigns, it would have a short-term impact on the market; bond investors would worry about long-term bonds going out of control, which would also raise long-term bond yields in the short term, putting pressure on risk assets. As we discussed earlier, this impact should be of a medium to small scale. Once Trump confirms his successor, the market is likely to interpret it as a "dovish shift," expecting the Federal Reserve to be forced to cut interest rates without a recession, at which point panic sentiment would ease and recover.
qinbafrank
qinbafrank17.7. klo 07.01
Regarding Trump's attempt to fire Powell last night, as previously stated: firing Powell without cause actually undermines the independence granted to the Federal Reserve by U.S. law (challenging the constitutional system); whether it's calling out Powell or pushing Federal Reserve board members to come out against him in support of interest rate cuts, or discussing the early determination of the next Federal Reserve chair, or trying to force Powell to resign by overspending on renovations of the Federal Reserve building, all of this is political maneuvering within the framework of constitutional law. Firing Powell is not the optimal choice; getting Powell to resign voluntarily is. In the next ten months or so, Powell may: 1) resign voluntarily; 2) serve until the end of his term but Trump nominates a chair candidate early; 3) be fired. For Trump, the best scenario is naturally 1), the second best is 2), and currently, the market is more focused on the interest rate policy path after the new chair takes office. Of course, if it's 3), it will still cause some impact, but the intensity should not be significant.
35,72K