President Donald Trump unleashed an attack on his own chairman of the Federal Reserve on Monday, calling Jerome Powell “a major loser” and “Mr. Too Late.” His verbal assault on Truth Social focused on the possibility of cuts in interest rates. “‘Preemptive Cuts’ in Interest Rates are being called for by many,” Trump began. “With Energy Costs way down, food prices (including Biden’s egg disaster!) substantially lower, and most other ‘things’ trending down, there is virtually No Inflation. “With these costs trending so nicely downward, just what I predicted they...

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and colleagues may have to step in as financial market gyrations continue.

The Federal Reserve wanted to sit back and monitor how an economy where inflation already was elevated would respond to sweeping tariffs implemented by the Trump administration.

But financial-market gyrations may not give it the time to wait. The yield on the 10-year Treasury BX:TMUBMUSD10Y spiked as high as 4.52% as midnight struck, with Wednesday bringing the highest tariffs in a century into effect.

Late last year, the Federal Reserve was on the cusp of achieving a so-called soft landing — inflation steadily cooling without triggering a recession. And this year, the Fed was supposed to continue to gradually lower interest rates. Rising uncertainty over tariffs and their economic fallout has forced the Fed to hit pause on further rate cuts, leaving policymakers in wait-and-see mode as they assess the risks to growth and the labor market. The situation is a difficult one for the Federal Reserve, which has a mandate to keep prices...

The Federal Reserve voted to once again hold its benchmark interest rate steady at this week's monetary policy meeting March 18-19, which means you shouldn't expect your credit card APRs to change. Although the federal funds rate only directly dictates lending between banks, the central bank's monetary adjustments are passed on to consumers, impacting financing rates on loans and credit cards. Raising or lowering the federal funds rate -- the overnight interest rate between banks -- creates a domino effect that can lead credit card issuers to increase or decrease...

That’s the Federal Reserve’s mantra as it watches the erratic rollout of Trump 2.0. Consumers and businesses are rattled. The odds of a recession are rising. When in doubt, wait it out. This column is from Trendlines, my business newsletter that covers the forces shaping the economy in Boston and beyond. If you’d like to receive it via email on Mondays and Thursdays, sign up here . Sitting tight is an understandable strategy as most economists — and even President Trump — warn of turbulence ahead. The latest: Fed chair...