• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it

2

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

3

The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families

1

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it

2

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

3

The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
FinanceInterest Rates

Trump Called the Fed’s Rate Hikes ‘Crazy.’ The Banking World Respectfully Disagrees

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 11, 2018, 5:19 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

After President Donald Trump attacked the Federal Reserve over its interest rate hikes on Wednesday, senior officials and banking chiefs have raced to defend the U.S. central bank and its chairman, Jerome Powell.

In the context of a Wall Street stock tumble that went on to reverberate around the world, Trump said the Fed had “gone crazy” and was “making a mistake.”

Voting for four hikes in the last year, the Fed has been trying to prevent the economy from overheating—raising interest rates essentially discourages borrowing. Another hike is expected before 2018 is over.

Efforts to cool down the market generally accompany rises in inflation, but there are few signs of that at the moment. However, these interest rate hikes are coming from a very low point, which was designed to aid recovery after the financial crisis.

According to JPMorgan Chase International’s chairman, Jacob Frenkel, the Fed’s efforts to normalize interest rates are, well, normal. Frenkel told CNBC that, with growth back on track and unemployment low, “that’s the time to normalize.”

“The Fed has announced it in advance, there are no surprises. Guidance was very clear and the Fed is doing the right thing,” said Frenkel, who suggested the hikes had nothing to do with this week’s selloff—the real culprit, he said, was the U.S.-China trade war.

Officials lined up to praise Powell for his independence and judgment. Speaking at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Indonesia (as was Frenkel), IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said she “would not associate Jay Powell with craziness,” and Powell’s counterpart at the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said Powell was “an individual that really understands the plumbing of the U.S. and global financial systems.”

“All over the world, it is certainly a good principle to have independence of the central banks and of the central bank governors. Certainly we have advocated that in all countries, and I think that the Fed is no exception,” said Lagarde.

Standard Chartered (SCBFF) chairman Jose Vinals also told CNBC that central bank independence was a “very important public good and that is something that should be cherished, in particular by political leaders.”

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Finance

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Finance

g
CommentaryVenture Capital
I watched enterprises buy AI that solved the wrong problem. So I left Dell and built a startup to fix it
By Ganesh PadmanabhanJune 19, 2026
16 hours ago
Sam Altman looks down and to the side, frowning.
AIOpenAI
Sam Altman was ‘0%’ excited to be a CEO of a public company—but OpenAI is taking steps to compete in the AI IPO blitz anyway
By Sasha RogelbergJune 19, 2026
17 hours ago
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
EnvironmentJeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
By Sydney LakeJune 19, 2026
17 hours ago
Record revenues. Record profits. Record revenue per employee. The Fortune 500 is richer than ever—and employing fewer people
EconomyFortune 500
Record revenues. Record profits. Record revenue per employee. The Fortune 500 is richer than ever—and employing fewer people
By Claire ZillmanJune 19, 2026
17 hours ago
A shopper looks at a beverage display June 4, 2026 at the Market 32 Supermarket in South Burlington, Vermont.
EconomyConsumers
Miserable K-shaped economy might actually be fading, as lower-income families bounce back, says Bank of America
By Eleanor PringleJune 19, 2026
17 hours ago
Top CD rates today, June 19, 2026: Lock in up to up to 4.30%
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Top CD rates today, June 19, 2026: Lock in up to up to 4.30%
By Glen Luke FlanaganJune 19, 2026
19 hours ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
Environment
Jeff Bezos pledged $10 billion for climate change. With the 2030 clock ticking, his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, is leading the charge to spend it
By Sydney LakeJune 19, 2026
17 hours ago
Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
Success
Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 18, 2026
2 days ago
The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
Economy
The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
By Jacqueline MunisJune 17, 2026
2 days ago
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
Success
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
By Preston ForeJune 17, 2026
3 days ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
5 days ago
Current price of gold as of June 18, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 18, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 18, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.