ECONOMY/FEDERAL RESERVE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell met for dinner with President Donald Trump on Monday [2-4-19] evening, the first time the two men have spoken since Powell was sworn in as the central bank’s chief last February. Powell, who has been the target of months of criticism from the president over the central bank’s interest rate policy, stressed that the Fed’s decisions on rates would remain nonpolitical, according to a statement from the Fed. But Powell, a Trump appointee, did not discuss his plans for rates, the Fed said…Trump, who has warned that Fed rate hikes were endangering economic growth, was especially angered in December when the central bank again raised rates. That led to reports that the president was considering firing Powell. But that dispute has died down in recent weeks as the Fed has increasingly signaled uncertainty about the economic outlook. The central bank last week left interest rates unchanged and suggested that it was ready to pause in its campaign of steadily hiking rates, sending stocks surging.”
–Victoria Guida, “Powell tells Trump, over dinner, that Fed will remain nonpolitical,” Politico, February 4, 2019 9:14 pm