2025-04-17 21:05
April 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine and the United States on Thursday signed a memorandum as an initial step towards the clinching of an agreement on developing minerals in Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's first deputy prime minister and economy minister, said. "We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine," Svyrydenko wrote on the social media platform X. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-us-sign-memorandum-minerals-deal-top-ukrainian-official-says-2025-04-17/
2025-04-17 21:02
Kraken cutting back on redundant roles Cryptocurrency firm continues hiring in key areas April 17 (Reuters) - Kraken, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is reorganizing its workforce by reducing some positions and consolidating teams where redundancies exist, while continuing to hire in key areas, a company spokesperson said on Thursday. "We continuously evaluate our workforce to ensure it aligns with our strategic priorities," the spokesperson said. Sign up here. Last year, Kraken appointed Arjun Sethi as co-CEO and announced a 15% reduction in its workforce, impacting about 400 employees. This follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's dismissal of a civil lawsuit in March, which had accused Kraken of operating illegally as an unregistered securities exchange. In a statement on its blog, Kraken had called the dismissal a turning point for cryptocurrency that ended a "wasteful, politically motivated campaign" begun during the Biden administration, and which hindered both innovation and investment. "Kraken's business is thriving. We're launching more new products than ever before, driving strong revenue growth, and rapidly expanding across our entire product portfolio—including through the agreement to acquire NinjaTrader, announced earlier this year," the spokesperson added. In March, the cryptocurrency exchange said that it would buy retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, in a deal that would allow it to expand into multiple asset classes and grow its user base. The San Francisco, California-based company began a phased national roll out of commission-free trading for over 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds on Monday, marking its latest move to diversify its offerings. Crypto firms such as Kraken are exploring expansion into traditional financial spaces, encouraged by U.S. President Donald Trump's promise of more industry-friendly regulation. While Kraken did not provide specific figures for the layoffs, according to a Coindesk report earlier in the day, the number could be in "hundreds." , opens new tab https://www.reuters.com/technology/kraken-lays-off-hundreds-ahead-ipo-coindesk-reports-2025-04-17/
2025-04-17 20:58
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a deal between U.S. Steel (X.N) , opens new tab and Nippon Steel (5401.T) , opens new tab could be a part of tariff negotiations with Japan, but added he doubted it would be. "If Nippon wants to come in here, they're working on it very hard. I have great respect for Nippon," he told a press briefing. "But we want to have U.S. Steel remain in this country." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/trump-says-he-doubts-us-steel-nippon-deal-will-be-part-trade-talks-with-japan-2025-04-17/
2025-04-17 20:48
WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believes Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will leave his job if Trump asks him to do so, although the U.S. central bank chief himself has said he would not leave if asked by the president. Trump told reporters he was not happy with Powell, saying he has been "too late" to take actions. Sign up here. Powell has repeatedly said he intends to serve the full remainder of his term as chair, which expires in May 2026, and has also said he would refuse to step aside if asked by Trump. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-fed-chair-powell-will-leave-if-he-asks-him-2025-04-17/
2025-04-17 20:47
April 17 (Reuters) - U.S President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's termination "cannot come fast enough", while calling for the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates. Trump, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, reiterated his stance on rate cuts, saying that Powell "should have lowered interest rates, like the (European Central Bank), long ago, but he should certainly lower them now." Sign up here. Trump has at times threatened to try to fire Powell. His comments come a day after the Fed chief said at an event at the Economic Club of Chicago that the Fed's "independence is very widely understood and supported in Washington and in Congress where it really matters." COMMENTS: JACK MCINTYRE, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, BRANDYWINE GLOBAL "If he appoints somebody equivalent to (1970-1978 Fed chairman) Arthur Burns, who was friendly with (former President Richard) Nixon, who didn't break inflation, you know, the bond market, the bond vigilantes are going to demand a higher term premium. Term premium is just to me a way of being compensated for additional uncertainty or volatility." TOM BRUCE, MACRO INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, TANGLEWOOD TOTAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT, HOUSTON "Trump hasn't been happy with Powell, so this isn't really new, that he's criticizing (the Fed) repeatedly ... the question is does he attempt to do anything about it, and I think he would be ill advised to do so. "The damage of attempting to remove (Powell) would be far too significant to go that route. I think the more likely scenario would be appointing a Fed chair in advance and having a shadow Fed chair that people would look to for guidance as opposed to the current Fed chair." "If it looks like we might have looser financial policy because we have a new Fed chair coming in, that would be a disaster ... it would have investors lose faith in the US and there's already been some degree of loss of faith. The dollar would react very negatively to any kind of disruption from the current order in the Fed." ROHAN KHANNA, HEAD, EURO RATES STRATEGY, BARCLAYS, LONDON "It's not surprising -- clearly he wants the Fed to cut but I think it (the comments) won't make much difference to the FOMC." JAMIE COX MANAGING PARTNER, HARRIS FINANCIAL GROUP, RICHMOND VIRGINIA "Trump wants the Federal Reserve in his corner for his trade agenda. They are, he just doesn’t realize it. The US Dollar is our greatest advantage in world trade, and the Federal Reserve should do everything possible to foster monetary policy which protects it. Administrations come and go, hits on the effects of monetary policy are long lasting.” CHRISTOPHER HODGE, CHIEF US ECONOMIST, NATIXIS, NEW YORK "So previously I thought the odds were very much against Trump trying to remove Powell, but my confidence has faded. Trump seems more comfortable than expected with a slowing economy and equity volatility and the tariff policies are much more onerous than anticipated, even if they have been walked back a bit. The bottom line is the parameters of potential policy outcomes has widened and while I still think Powell will be retained until his term ends, I am less certain that I was previously.” ROSS BRAMWELL, MARKET STRATEGIST, HOMRICH BERG, ATLANTA "It doesn't seem like they have gotten along for many years... he has called for Powell's departure a few times now. But I don't believe that President Trump would make that move at this time. He would get some push back from other Republicans in the Senate and the House...even public opinion would probably go against as most people have confidence in the market because of an independent Fed. Trump may increase his vocal criticism, but I don't think trying to remove him is likely." https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-threatens-try-fire-fed-chief-powell-2025-04-17/
2025-04-17 20:45
Trump says rates should be falling in US as in Europe Fed is keeping rates on hold, concerned tariffs will drive up inflation Trump says Powell would leave if asked, Powell has said he would not April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday launched a series of attacks against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, accusing the central bank chief of "playing politics" by not cutting interest rates, asserting he had the power to evict Powell from his job "real fast," and looking forward to the day when Powell was gone. Powell's termination as Fed chair "cannot come fast enough", the president said in morning comments posted to social media. Trump's post also said the Fed should be cutting interest rates and called a recent Powell speech about the economy a "complete mess." Sign up here. Trump expanded in a later press appearance that reflected how the Fed's decisions could weigh on the president's fortunes. Interest rates on home mortgages and other consumer credit remain high, for example, and the Fed is likely to offer little relief now that inflation risks are rising in the wake of Trump's tariff plans. "The Fed really owes it to the American people to get interest rates down. That's the only thing he's good for," Trump said. "I am not happy with him. If I want him out of there he'll be out real fast believe me." Trump's pointed remarks about Powell echo the sometimes intense language used against the Fed chair in Trump's first term. It pushes into an issue with the potential to rock global markets if the president tries to fire Powell because he disagrees about his monetary policy decisions. Indeed, Trump has privately discussed firing Powell for months and talked about it with former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, including the possibility of then selecting Warsh as Powell's replacement, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Warsh for his part has advised against trying to fire Powell, arguing that Trump should let the Fed chair complete his term without interference, the report said. It is not clear Trump has the power to remove Powell, who is appointed by the president but confirmed by the Senate. An effort by Trump to remove members of other independent agencies is currently before the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, Powell said he felt the case would not change the Fed's longstanding independence in monetary policy, something that has broad bipartisan support. Contrary to Trump's assertion that Powell would leave if asked, Powell, a former private equity investor with enough independent wealth to fund his own legal challenge, has said he has no plans to vacate the job before his term ends in May of next year. Still, the remarks rekindled an issue that investors had hoped was settled with Powell serving out a four-year term that ends in May 2026 and Trump picking a successor in the meantime. Such a transition would avoid the sort of fight that could undermine Fed credibility that remains important to global markets. Online betting markets have taken note, with a contract on the platform Kalshi now placing a one-in-four chance that Powell will be out as Fed chair by year end, roughly double the odds from a month ago. HIGH STAKES Trump's blow-up at Powell was sensitive enough, Politico said in a report citing unnamed sources, that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been cautioning White House officials against attempting to fire Powell, saying it would risk destabilizing financial markets. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that with the global outlook weakening in the face of the Trump tariff onslaught, central banks like the Fed needed to remain agile and credible - capacities that can be limited by political interference. "A sudden crystallization of the threat to Fed independence would both intensify market stress and shift it in more of a stagflationary direction with a sharp increase in tail risk," Evercore ISI Vice Chair Krishna Guha said in a note. Trump's comments come a day after Powell said at an event at the Economic Club of Chicago that the Fed's "independence is very widely understood and supported in Washington and in Congress where it really matters," drawing applause from the high-level group of business executives for a pledge to set interest rates independent of political pressure or partisan considerations. In the same appearance, Powell downplayed the likelihood of interest rate cuts anytime soon. He said the administration's tariff plans were likely to raise both inflation and unemployment, leaving the Fed sidelined in making any changes to interest rates until the direction of the economy is clearer. While Trump noted approvingly that the European Central Bank has been cutting rates, the ECB is proceeding partly in response to Trump's own trade policies. The euro-area's growth outlook had "deteriorated owing to trade tensions," the ECB said, while euro-area inflation is expected to continue falling. In the U.S. Trump's plans have also led to a lower growth outlook, with economists polled by Reuters putting recession odds at 45%. But it has also raised the prospect of higher inflation that policymakers said they may need to guard against by leaving interest rates at least at their current level. The Fed's benchmark interest rate is currently 4.25%-4.50%, where it has been since December following several rate cuts late last year. "I don't see any need to change the setting of the fed funds rate anytime soon...It's really about collecting information, understanding better what's happening in the economy during the rest of this year, understanding kind of how the uncertainty plays out," New York Fed President John Williams told Fox Business Network correspondent Edward Lawrence on Thursday. "I think we have a period of higher inflation this year and a slower growth path for this year relative to last year. So that's a combination you have to think carefully about." Powell on Wednesday warned Trump's tariff policies risked pushing inflation and employment further from the central bank's goals, which it manages jointly under a mandate from Congress. The Fed was "well positioned to wait for greater clarity" about Trump's policies and their impact, Powell said. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-fed-chair-powells-termination-cant-come-fast-enough-2025-04-17/
