Overview
- Jerome Powell confirmed the subpoena concerns his June testimony on the roughly $2.5 billion Fed headquarters renovation and said the move reflects pressure from President Donald Trump.
- Markets turned volatile with financial stocks under pressure, the dollar softening, and safe-haven metals surging to records, including gold above $4,600 an ounce.
- Trump’s call to cap credit-card interest rates at 10% added to bank-sector losses as investors assessed potential hits to profitability.
- Major central banks and former Fed chairs issued statements backing Powell and warning against threats to the Federal Reserve’s independence.
- Spillovers reached emerging markets, with Argentina’s central bank buying dollars for a sixth straight session totaling about $273 million as local liquidity tightened and short-term rates spiked ahead of a key Treasury auction.