Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Aug 05, 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

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
FIFA’s Retreat Leaves a Larger Question Over Who Guards the Game
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Arrest Warrant Issued in Lebanon for Tycoon Spotted Meeting Netanyahu in Washington
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Pentagon Discloses Nearly 100 US Troop Injuries During Renewed Iran Fighting
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
Leadership Change and Strategic Rivalry Redraw the Political Map
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Britain Nationalises British Steel to Protect Scunthorpe Production and Strategic Supply
Thomas Tuchel Faces Fierce Backlash After Tactical Retreat Costs England World Cup Final Berth
A Quiet Bastille Day: France Grapples with World Cup Heartbreak and Leftover Fireworks
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
Harvard Astrophysicist to Lead U.S. Scientific Advisory on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
Emergency Sirens Activated Across Bahrain as Interior Ministry Issues Shelter Directives
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
Netflix Weighs Always-On Channels, Bundles and Short-Form Video
The AI Invoice Shock: Layoffs Didn't Save Managers Money — They Cost Them More
Concern: Sexually Transmitted Bacterium Among Men Develops Antibiotic Resistance
Passenger Partially Pulled Out of Ryanair Jet After Cabin Window Fails Mid-Flight
Severe Heatwave Drives Dangerous Ground-Level Ozone Pollution Across Two Thirds of European Union
The Physical and Electronic Barriers Disrupting Domestic Wireless Networks
France and Morocco Open World Cup Quarter-Finals as Collina Defends Refereeing
Tech Pulse: The Future of AI and Screen Culture
Global News Briefing: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions and Corporate Shakeups
×