London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 22, 2026

Whether election win is Trump or Biden, Fed Chair Powell still a rainmaker

Whether election win is Trump or Biden, Fed Chair Powell still a rainmaker

Election chaos won't prevent the Fed from backstopping the U.S. economy.

“The market has been correlated to the Fed. The Fed’s going to continue to ease whoever the president is,” said Robert Wolf, former UBS Group Americas chair and a FOX Business Democratic contributor. “I think the markets will do pretty well.”

Powell, whose terms ends in February 2022, began the Fed’s two-day meeting on Wednesday. The central bank will announce its interest rate decision Thursday.

Traders are expecting policymakers to hold rates near record lows, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Powell has reiterated in recent weeks that policymakers are committed to helping steer the economy through the fragile recovery while urging lawmakers to do their part.



Despite bouts of volatility and pullbacks around the election, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are about 4% off record highs while the Dow is less than 5% from its own peak.

Policymakers have since the outbreak of COVID-19 injected $2.3 trillion into the U.S. economy and have shored up lending to Main Street, most recently by lowering the borrowing minimum for small- and medium-sized businesses to $100,000 from $250,000.

Like Wolf, many economists don’t see the Fed’s free-money train slowing down anytime soon as the ripple effects of the pandemic loom large.

“The Fed is unlikely to withdraw support until the economy is much more fully recovered,” wrote Ethan Harris, global economist at Bank of America Securities.

The ADP National Employment report, released Wednesday, showed private employers added 365,000 jobs last month, below the 600,000-650,000 estimate. Unemployment could remain elevated as another round of stimulus remains in limbo amid the election uncertainty.

Friday’s jobs report for November will provide a fresh update with the unemployment rate expected to remain at 7.9%, according to economists.

Along with the Fed’s decision, equally notable will be Powell’s press conference on Thursday. He’ll share the central bank’s outlook for the U.S. economy, and will almost certainly be asked about the outcome of the election.

President Trump, for months, attacked Powell on Twitter and in interviews for keeping interest rates too high. The president softened his tone after Powell, in March, led a rescue of the U.S. economy, injecting trillions in fiscal stimulus as COVID-19 raged.

“I would say that I was not happy with him at the beginning and I am getting more and more happy with him,” said Trump during an exclusive interview with FOX Business last July. “I think he stepped up to the plate. He’s done a good job."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Mandelson Epstein Case in Jeopardy as U.S. Files Stay Out of Reach
Prince Harry and Six Others Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million After High Court Defeat
The rise and fall of Hui Ka Yan, China’s richest man
Woke: Britain Considers Plain Packaging for Cigars as Specialist Shops Warn of Industry Collapse
Britain's Public-Service Productivity Remains Below 2019 as £80 Billion Output Gap Fuels WFH Debate
Petrol Bombs Set Luxury Cars Alight Outside Birmingham Wedding as Police Hunt Three Men
Bitcoin Surges Toward $80,000 as Short Squeeze and ETF Inflows Ignite Crypto Rally
Prince Harry and Co-Claimants Ordered to Pay £9.5 Million Toward Daily Mail Publisher’s Legal Costs
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reportedly Plan Return to Britain With Their Children
UK Court Ruling Threatens Deportation Plans for Potential Trafficking Victims to Albania
Kemi Badenoch Presses UK Government for Decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil Fields
UK Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Calls for Ban on Goods from Occupied West Bank
Andy Burnham Government to Place Civil Servants Directly in English Mayoral Offices
Met Office Warns Major El Niño Could Bring Stormier, Wetter Autumn to UK
UK Economy Gains Unexpected Momentum Ahead of Andy Burnham Government’s First Budget
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
UK Retail Sentiment Improves as Summer Spending Boosts Consumer Confidence
UK Aid Cuts Draw Warnings From Charities Over Humanitarian Consequences
UK Financial Conduct Authority Issues Guidance for Motor Finance Redress Scheme
UK Met Office Launches Aviation Programme to Reduce Climate Impact of Persistent Contrails
Former UK Civil Service Chief Received Record 500,000 Pound Severance Payment
West Midlands to Bring Bus Network Under Public Franchising Model
UK Government Drops Plan to Relax Affordable Housing Requirements After Backlash
×