Rattled Markets Would ‘Erupt’ If Trump Fired the Fed Chairman

  • Threats to Jerome Powell’s autonomy sow concern for investors
  • U.S. stocks just had the biggest weekly drop since August 2011
Jerome PowellPhotographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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Now it’s spiraling drama over Federal Reserve autonomy that frazzled investors must cope with as stocks lurch toward a bear market.

Word President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was going down poorly Saturday on Wall Street, a place not known for its sympathy with Powell’s policies. Most investors saw the prospect as ill-advised meddling that could sow more agitation in a stock market that just had its worst week in almost a decade.