Trump Ratchets Up Pressure for Fed Rate Cut

Phil Hall

Jul 29, 2019

President Trump has continued his pressure on the Federal Reserve to enact a rate cut at this Wednesday’s meeting of its policymaking Federal Open Rate Committee.

This morning, the President came back to Twitter to belittle central bank’s policy, comparing it unfavorably to the nation’s leading trade rivals.

“The E.U. and China will further lower interest rates and pump money into their systems, making it much easier for their manufacturers to sell product,” he tweeted. “In the meantime, and with very low inflation, our Fed does nothing—and probably will do very little by comparison. Too bad!”

The central bank has not enacted a rate cut since December 2008. While Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted at a possible rate cut during an appearance earlier this month before the Senate Banking Committee, has not definitively stated when or if a rate cut could occur.

Link copied

Published

Jul 29, 2019

People On The Move

MBA Appoints Rachel Kelley Legislative Affairs VP

Kelley's focus will be on Republican members in the House.

The Mortgage Bankers Association appointed Rachel Kelley as its vice president of legislative affairs, with a focus on advocating MBA's legislative and policy priorities on Capitol Hill, particularly among Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Kelley bring...

Analysis and Data

Mortgage Applications Inch Up 0.3%

Despite a 50 basis point decline in rates over past six weeks, purchase activity remained approximately 20% lower than the previous year.

Mortgage applications saw a marginal uptick of 0.3% for the week ending Nov. 24, 2023, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The results, however, have been adjusted to account for the Thanksgiving holiday. The ...