US President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied reports he intends to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as the White House escalates its attacks on the central bank.
After US media reported the President indicated he was open to dismissing the Fed chairman, Mr Trump confirmed he had met Republicans from the House of Representatives during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday.
“I talked about the concept of firing him. I said, 'what do you think?' Almost every one of them said I should, but I'm more conservative,” he said before a meeting with Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
When asked if he would rule out the idea, Mr Trump said: “I don't rule out anything but I think it's highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud.”
Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee were expected to meet Mr Powell on Wednesday night, Semafor reported.
Mr Trump has launched an unrelenting campaign to pressure Mr Powell to lower interest rates, which the President wants to help service the nation's debt in a concept known as “fiscal dominance”. On Wednesday, he again said the Fed's current target rate of 4.25 per cent to 4.50 per cent should be three points lower.
Under the Federal Reserve Act, a president can remove a Federal Reserve official only “for cause”. This means the White House must show a Fed official or its chairperson had committed an act of malfeasance or neglect of duty. A recent Supreme Court ruling upheld the notion that legal reasoning the White House has been used to fire officials at other independent federal agencies does not apply to the Fed.
But the White House in recent weeks has launched a new phase of attack on the Federal Reserve, accusing Mr Powell of mismanaging the central bank given the ballooning renovation costs of its headquarters.
Asked if Mr Powell should be investigated, Mr Trump said: “Well, I think he's already under investigation. He spent far more money than he was supposed to rebuilding.”
Some Trump officials, including National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, said Mr Powell could be fired over the renovation project. When asked on Tuesday if the renovation issue was a sackable offence, Mr Trump said: “I think it sort of is.”
Mr Powell, whose term as Fed chairman expires next May, has asked the Fed's inspector general to review the renovation project.
The Fed chairman has remained adamant that the President has no authority to fire him. In November, Mr Powell said such a move is “not permitted under the law”.
Mr Trump's pressure campaign comes as the central bank has extended its pause on interest rates as it braces for tariff-related inflation. A Labour Department report on Tuesday showed inflation accelerate in line with expectations last month. Underlying numbers in the report showed rising prices in goods such as household appliances and clothing are showing that tariffs are being passed on to consumers.
Most Fed officials suggest they are still waiting further clarity before cutting interest rates, meaning they are likely to continue their rate-cut pause when they meet later this month.
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
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Rating: 4/5
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Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
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La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
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Syria squad
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania.
Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan.
Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef.
Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
