WASHINGTON — The chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome H. Powell, met with President Trump on Monday to discuss the economy, a first since Mr. Trump labeled the central bank chief and his colleagues “boneheads” and questioned whether Mr. Powell or President Xi Jinping of China was a bigger “enemy” of America. The meeting, which the Fed said Mr. Trump had requested, was the first between Mr. Powell and the president since February. In the intervening months, Mr. Trump has regularly taken to Twitter or television to criticize central bankers for keeping interest rates too high, often comparing United States monetary policy unfavorably to the negative rates that prevail in Europe. In September, Mr. Trump tweeted that “the USA should always be paying” the “lowest rate” and called Fed officials “boneheads.” In August, he asked on Twitter, “who is our bigger enemy, Jay Powell or Chairman Xi?”On Monday, Mr. Trump tweeted that he had just finished “a very good & cordial meeting” with Mr. Powell, and that “everything was discussed including interest rates, negative interest, low inflation, easing, Dollar strength,” among other topics. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also attended the meeting.

Source: New York Times November 18, 2019 18:00 UTC