The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that former U.S. Federal Reserve leaders and some Republican politicians supported Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Monday, criticizing the Trump administration's criminal investigation as coercive. The Globe's Mark Rendell writes that on Sunday, Mr. Powell released a video stating that the Department of Justice had issued subpoenas to the Fed, threatening a criminal indictment. The inquiry focuses on cost overruns for renovations at two Fed buildings in Washington and Mr. Powell's congressional testimony. However, Mr. Powell sees this as a pretext, as President Donald Trump has been pressuring him to exert more control over the independent central bank and encourage lower interest rates. Stock markets rose and bond markets remained relatively stable, with long-term yields rising slightly. "If you didn't know about the announcement, you would think the market moves were just part of a normal daily volatility," Beata Caranci, chief economist at TD Bank, told The Globe. The relative calm could be that while there is no doubt Mr. Trump will replace Mr. Powell with someone who will push for lower rates, the chair is only one of 12 voting members on the committee that sets rates.
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