Powell era ends with rates on hold, vows to stay on as Fed governor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell closed out eight years as head of the US central bank ‌on Wednesday with interest rates on hold, rising concern about inflation, and an announcement that he would stay on as a Fed governor for now to defend the agency's independence from Trump administration "battering." Speaking after the end of a two-day policy meeting, Powell said he would "keep a low profile as a governor," and did not intend to act as a disruptive "high-profile

2026-04-30 10:22:24:00

Suspect in White House press dinner shooting wrote anti-Christian manifesto, Trump says

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the suspect accused of trying to attack administration officials at Saturday night's White House Correspondents' ‌Association dinner was a "pretty sick guy" who had an anti-Christian manifesto. Trump said in TV interviews that the suspect's family previously expressed concerns about him to law enforcement officials. The suspect, whom an official identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, was arrested at the scene of the even

2026-04-27 09:09:05:00

US, EU deepen cooperation on critical minerals

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The US and the European Union on Friday deepened their coordination on critical minerals as part of a broader push by Western allies to loosen China's grip on materials crucial to advanced manufacturing. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and European Union Trade Commissioner Maros ‌Sefcovic signed a memorandum of understanding for a partnership on producing and securing critical minerals, with a specific action plan for trade announced separately. Rubio did not mention Ch

2026-04-26 11:33:52:00

Justice Dept ends Powell probe, clearing way for Warsh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Justice Department is closing its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Friday, removing an obstacle to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the central bank. The move by Pirro, a Trump ally and the top federal prosecutor in Washington, for now ends an inquiry involving renovation costs for Fed buildings that had been rebuked by a federal judge and prompted a key Republican senator to b

2026-04-26 11:10:48:00

Trump says he will 'remember' firms that don't seek tariff refunds

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will "remember" companies that do not seek refunds for ‌payments they made on his tariffs that were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, although he did not specify how companies might benefit by abstaining from the US government's new refund portal. A day after the US Customs and Border Protection agency began accepting electronic refund applications from importers, Trump told CNBC he was pleased to hear about media reports that

2026-04-22 11:15:39:00

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw ballistic missile tests, state media says

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday oversaw ‌test launches of upgraded short-range ballistic missiles, state media KCNA reported on Monday. The test involved five launches of improved ‌Hwasong-11LA ground-to-ground tactical ballistic missiles to evaluate the power and performance of new warheads, including cluster and fragmentation types, KCNA said. North Korea fired the ⁠missiles toward an island target zone about 136 km away, striking an area of roughly 12.5 to 13 hectares with what the

2026-04-20 08:24:30:00

US military to enforce blockade in Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea

LONDON (Reuters) — ​The US military will enforce a ‌blockade in Gulf of Oman and Arabian ‌Sea east of the Strait of Hormuz and it ⁠will apply to all vessel traffic regardless of flag, the ⁠US Central Command said in ​a note to seafarers seen by ‌Reuters on Monday. The advanced ‌note ‌said the blockade ‌would come ​into effect Monday at 2 p.m. GMT. "Any vessel entering or departing the blockaded ⁠area ​without authorization ⁠is subject to interception, diversion, ​and capture," the note said. "Th

2026-04-13 20:57:41:00

Trump says gas prices may stay high through midterms

MIAMI (Reuters) -- US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the price of oil and gasoline may remain high ‌through November's midterm elections, a rare acknowledgement of the potential political fallout from his decision to attack Iran six weeks ago. "It could be, or the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same," Trump, who is in Miami for the weekend, told Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo" when ‌asked whether the cost of oil and gas would be l

2026-04-13 10:42:20:00

US military to block ships from Iranian ports after talks yield no agreement

President Donald Trump said on Sunday the US Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal ‌to end the war, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire. The US Central Command said US forces would begin implementing the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Monday. It would be "enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports

2026-04-13 08:25:48:00

Oil jumps 8% to above $100 ahead of US blockade on Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices ‌jumped above $100 a barrel on Monday as the US Navy prepared a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that could restrict Iranian oil shipments after the US and Iran failed to reach a deal ‌to end the war. Brent crude futures rose $7.60, or 7.98%, to $102.80 a barrel by 2310 GMT after settling 0.75 percent lower on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate was at $104.88 a barrel, up $8.31, or 8.61 percent, following a 1.33% loss in the previous session. "The market is ⁠now largely back to condit

2026-04-13 08:22:11:00