President Donald Trump leaned on the Federal Reserve for help to deal with ramifications from the coronavirus impact on the stock market and the economy.
“I hope the Fed gets involved, and I hope they get involved soon,” Trump said during a scrum with reporters late Friday afternoon, nearly an hour after Wall Street closed out its worst week since the financial crisis.
He did not specifically call for a rate cut but said the U.S. central bank should follow its global counterparts who are “putting in a lot of money” as fears grow that the COVID-19 virus could cause a sharp economic slowdown.
“They’re all going in, they’re all putting in a lot of money. Our Fed sits there, doesn’t do what they’re supposed to do,” Trump said. “They’ve done this country a great disservice.”
Financial markets expect the Fed to enact a 50 basis point rate reduction when it meets in March. Officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, have not committed to a course of action, though Powell said in a statement Friday that the central bank will act as necessary.
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