Archive for category: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers
said it’s too early to judge the Trump administration’s rescue
plan for Argentina, while highlighting that it has incorporated
unconventional elements that raise questions.
“I’m withholding judgment at this point, but am nervous
about the approach that’s being pursued,” Summers said on
Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Week with David Westin. “The
tactics used in this bailout are new and raise questions, and
we’ll have to see how it all plays out over time.” He flagged
that there may be agreements not publicly known about US help
that “make this sounder than it appears.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has led US efforts to
support Argentina, which has been battling to support its
exchange rate amid investor fears over the South American
nation’s economic outlook. The US intervened Thursday to buy
Argentina pesos and finalized a $20 billion currency swap
framework with Buenos Aires. Bessent also pledged “whatever
exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability to
markets.”  READ MORE

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said he expects Donald Trump to name a mainstream candidate to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, despite the president’s bashing of the US central bank leader for failing to cut interest rates this year.

“I would be quite surprised if he did not make a choice that fair-minded observers on both sides recognized as a reasonable person,” Summers said on Bloomberg Television’s Wall Street Weekwith David Westin. “I am considerably more confident than some” that Trump would make such a decision, thanks to the swift financial-market reactions to the news when it comes, he said.

Powell’s term as chair is up in May 2026, and Trump said this month his pick would be “coming out very soon.” In April, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said the timeline for interviewing candidates to succeed Powell was “sometime in the fall.” Bessent himself has emerged as a potential candidate on a list that includes former Fed board member Kevin Warsh, Bloomberg has reported.

Trump this week repeated his criticism of Powell and his colleagues for keeping benchmark rates unchanged, saying they should be at least 2 percentage points lower. During an event Wednesday, he also quipped, “Am I allowed to appoint myself at the Fed? I’d do a much better job than these people.”  READ MORE