Trump blasts US central bank again over rate hikes
AFP/File / Brendan SmialowskiTrump's comments came as Tokyo stocks plunged as the few Asian markets open on Christmas suffered a holiday rout on fears over the American economy and the continued US government shutdown
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday renewed his attack on the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy, blaming the central bank's interest rate hikes for a tanking market.
With stocks on track for their worst December since the Great Depression, Trump has regularly berated the Fed for its stewardship of the economy.
"They're raising rates too fast because they think the economy is so good," Trump told reporters in a Q&A following his annual Christmas teleconference with US troops.
"But I think they will get it pretty soon," added the president, who has dubbed the supposedly independent central bank "crazy" and "out of control."
Trump's comments came after Asian markets suffered a holiday rout on fears about the US economy and a government shutdown in Washington, now in its fourth day.
Closed on Monday for a national holiday, Tokyo plummeted at the open on Tuesday, suffering its worst finish since April 2017 after a brutal holiday-shortened session on Wall Street that saw US stocks sink for a fourth straight session.
Markets have been roiled by ongoing uncertainty in the United States, with Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin berated for holding a call with the six biggest US banks and then reporting on Twitter that the six CEOs have "ample liquidity" available.
Investors were also unnerved by weekend news reports that Trump had asked about the possibility of firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, accounts that Mnuchin said Trump has denied.
Trump last week called the Fed a greater economic threat to the United States than China, and on Monday compared the central bank to a sloppy golfer.
Asked by reporters whether he had confidence in Mnuchin, Trump answered "yes I do," calling the treasury chief "very talented, very smart person."
Trump said he also remained confident in American companies and urged investors to stay calm over the nosediving markets.
"I have great confidence in our companies. They're doing very well," he said. "I think it's a tremendous opportunity to buy."
The stock market malaise comes with Trump refusing to sign a budget bill to keep the government funded as he demands money for a US-Mexico border wall.
Stephen Innes, head of APAC trading at OANDA, said Trump's spat with the Fed and Mnuchin's call with the banks had "markets running for cover."
Investors "have no confidence in the administration," he told AFP. "Markets are driven by perception and it is flat-out bad."
Trump vows no end to shutdown until wall funded
AFP/File / SAUL LOEBUS President Donald Trump answered calls from people calling into the NORAD Santa tracker phone line in the White House on Christmas Eve
US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday he would not reopen the government until he gets $5 billion to fund his border wall, as the partial government shutdown dragged into a fourth day.
Trump's demand for a physical barrier on the US-Mexico border -- a pillar of his election platform -- has been rejected by Democrats and some Republicans. In retaliation, Trump refused last week to sign a wider spending bill, temporarily stripping funding from swaths of the government.
"I can't tell you when the government is going to be open," the Republican president told reporters at the White House after his annual Christmas teleconference with US troops.
"I can tell you it's not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they'd like to call it."
Trump reaffirmed a claim made on Twitter Monday that he had approved a contract for the construction of 115 miles (185 kilometers) of wall in Texas, although the White House has not offered any details on the project.
He said he would visit that stretch of the border "at the end of January for the start of construction."
"It's going to be built, hopefully rapidly," he said.
The president said he aimed to have a barrier stretching across 500 to 550 miles of the 2,000-mile border, and "to have it either renovated or brand new by election time."
"It's going to all work out," he said, adding that some furloughed federal workers also favor the construction of border wall Trump says will discourage illegal immigration.
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said at the weekend the president "must abandon the wall, plain and simple" to reopen the government.
Trump ended the session by railing against the Democrats and former FBI director James Comey, whom he sacked in May 2017 in a move he later said stemmed from frustration over the federal investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign Russian interference in the 2016 US vote.
"It's a disgrace, what's happening in our country," Trump said. "But other than that, I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas."
Du Plessis backs Amla to regain form
AFP / ISHARA S. KODIKARAHashim Amla scored just 40 runs in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka in July
Struggling South African batting star Hashim Amla will return to his number three position in the first Test against Pakistan, starting at SuperSport Park on Wednesday, with the full backing of captain Faf du Plessis.
"Hash has been our rock at number three," said Du Plessis ahead of a series featuring two strong bowling attacks and two potentially fragile batting line-ups.
Du Plessis acknowledged that Amla, 35, had slipped from his previous high standards, scoring only 444 runs at an average of 23.36 since his last century, against Bangladesh in October 2017.
Amla was moved down to number four in the order for South Africa’s most recent Test, against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July, with Theunis de Bruyn filling the number three slot and making a century.
"There was a reason for that," said Du Plessis. "In Sri Lanka we needed that (Amla) experience against the spin and we felt it was easier for Theunis as a new player to come in when the ball was still a little bit harder."
But Du Plessis said De Bruyn would drop down to number six against Pakistan behind Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Amla, Temba Bavuma and Du Plessis in what he described as a "normal batting line-up".
Amla had a string of low scores and was dropped by his Durban Heat franchise during a recent Twenty20 tournament.
But Du Plessis said he was encouraged that Amla had scored 61 in the second innings of a franchise match for the Cape Cobras last week.
"What is important is time in the middle. Hashim knows he hasn’t scored the amount of runs he would have liked in the last year but it’s a new season and he’s fresh, coming off a fifty.
"It is important for him to get off to a good start in this series, just to settle the nerves and be confident. Hashim technically he is one of the most sound players in the world."
- 'Get them in trouble early' -
Du Plessis said South Africa’s experience of home conditions could give them the edge over Pakistan.
"There are two very good bowling attacks," said Du Plessis, anticipating that pitches would offer assistance to bowlers through the three-match series. "It is going to be a challenge for the batting units."
He said Pakistan would face a similar situation to India and Australia, who were both beaten in Test series in South Africa last season. "Our batsmen are used to playing in these conditions. If you can get them (Pakistan) in trouble early there’s something in their middle order you can work with. Hopefully we can put some doubts in their batsmen."
Du Plessis admitted, though, that he was not certain how the Centurion pitch would play after a Test against India last season was played on a dry surface that the South Africans felt suited the Indians.
"I’m not sure," he said. "It looks a bit greener. Last season they tried to leave grass on but it all burnt dead. I like clarity for a Test at home."
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said that fast bowler Mohammad Abbas had not recovered enough from a shoulder injury to be considered for the first Test, leaving Pakistan with three front-line seam bowlers in Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi.
copy https://www.afp.com/en/news
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário