Fed’s rate outlook, independence in focus as Warsh confirmation hearing begins in World Economy News 22/04/2026 Wall Street’s focus on Tuesday was on a key Congressional confirmation hearing of President Donald Trump’s nominee for the next Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh. With the hearing underway, the events will be closely watched for cues on major issues such as the Fed’s outlook on interest rates and the central bank’s independence. The hearing is being conducted by the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Warsh’s confirmation also remains under doubt due to opposition from U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, a key Republican who has vowed to block Warsh’s appointment pending a Department of Justice (DoJ) probe into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Warsh was nominated as the next chair at the end of January by Trump. At the time, market participants saw the choice as a safe one, based on Warsh’s hawkish tilt as a Fed Governor in the past. The U.S. dollar in particular had seen a noticeable move on odds that Warsh would be more likely to reduce the Fed’s balance sheet. However, Warsh’s recent comments have tilted towards advocating for cutting interest rates. Trump on Tuesday told CNBC that he “would be disappointed” if the new Fed chair does not cut rates. The president has long advocated for lower interest rates and has been involved in several high-profile spats with current Fed chief Powell over the issue. He has called Powell names and mused about firing him. Meanwhile, his administration has opened an investigation into a Fed project involving the renovation of office buildings. Powell in January, in an extraordinary move, said in a public statement that the DoJ probe and the “threat of criminal charges” was a “consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.” Source: Investing.com 2026-04-22 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share