[ad_1]
Warren Buffett, the 88-year-old billionaire investor, thinks Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is the ideal candidate, despite White House criticism.
"There is no better person than Jay Powell to manage the Fed," Buffett told Liz Claman of FOX Business Saturday at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting.
MORE FOXBUSINESS.COM …
President Trump has frequently criticized the Fed and Powell for what he sees as a drag on economic growth. In 2018, the Fed decided to raise the federal funds benchmark four times, much to Trump's anger. However, in 2019, he favored a wait-and-see approach, leaving interest rates unchanged.
Before the two-day FOMC meeting this week, Trump called on policymakers to lower interest rates by 1%. However, citing moderate inflation, the Fed has decided to keep interest rates stable.
"Our Federal Reserve has raised interest rates continuously, even with very low inflation, and has introduced a very large amount of quantitative tightening. We have the potential to ride like a rocket if we lower rates a bit, like a point and a quantitative easing, "Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
Buffett said he understood Trump's willingness to influence the Fed's monetary policy.
"The presidents have always wanted that," he said. "Especially with the next election years. So it's not unusual.
He acknowledged, however, that the "proper relationship" between the Fed and the White House is a relationship in which the central bank remains independent.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP
[ad_2]
Source link