Stocks gained on growing confidence of an imminent US rate cut, but investors and analysts voiced worry over the expected selection of a new Federal Reserve chief they fear will compromise the central bank’s independence.
Traders now project a quarter-percentage-point cut next week as nearly 90% likely. But of greater concern for bond investors is President Donald Trump’s choice for the next Fed chair, with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett the frontrunner. Some funds have told the US Treasury of concerns that Hassett, who is seen as close to Trump, might too easily acquiesce to the president’s demands for further rate cuts, the Financial Times reported, while The Economist characterized him as a “partisan” with a “torched… scholarly reputation.”
