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President Trump’s efforts to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook could jeopardize the central bank’s independence, according to longtime investor Rebecca Patterson. “We shouldn’t ignore this at all. This is a big deal what’s going on,” the former Bridgewater Associates chief investment strategist told CNBC’s “Fast Money” this week. Patterson, now a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, has spent more than two decades analyzing how politics and policy shape global markets. She …

President Donald Trump’s effort to sack Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook is about more than firing someone: It’s a maneuver that, if successful, would mark a seismic shift for an institution that for ages had been considered above politics. Since taking office in January, Trump has placed the Fed directly in the crosshairs of executive power. He has berated central bankers for not lowering rates, threatened to remove Chair Jerome Powell, and now has taken …

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller reiterated his support for an interest rate cut in September and opened the door to a potentially larger move if the labor market continues to weaken. In a speech Thursday evening, the policymaker said he expects the August nonfarm payrolls report to be weak, with Bureau of Labor Statistics revisions indicating that the the economy may have lost jobs over the past several months. “Based on what I know today, …

By late spring, Italy’s banking world was swept up in a storm of convoluted takeover bids and counterbids involving a swathe of the country’s major lenders. Three months later, only one high-profile bid is still standing. It started with UniCredit‘s July decision to drop the “drag” of its nearly 15-billion-euro ($17.5-billion) bid for Banco BPM on the cusp of the proposal’s natural expiry, citing the opacity of conditions imposed by the Rome administration via its …

Affirm shares rose 15% in extended trading on Thursday after the provider of buy now, pay later loans reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter. Here’s how the company did versus LSEG consensus estimates: EPS: 20 cents vs. 11 cents estimated Revenue: $876 million vs. $837 million estimated Revenue climbed 33% in the period from $659 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Gross merchandise volume rose 43% to $10.4 billion from $7.2 …

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook’s lawsuit against Donald Trump challenges his ability to remove her from office, but only briefly addresses the central accusations that she committed mortgage fraud. One part of the documents filed in the suit suggests that the issue at hand regarding documents Cook submitted for home loans may have been caused by a “clerical error.” The complaint mostly focuses on rules outlined in the Federal Reserve Act that state Fed officials …

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams on Wednesday stressed the importance of central bank independence as President Donald Trump looks to exert control over monetary policy. In a CNBC interview, the influential policymaker avoided commenting directly on Trump’s efforts to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook but did note the important economic role the central bank plays in maintaining a stable economy. “Personally, I have worked with Lisa Cook as she’s been a member of …

Jamie and her husband are traveling to Switzerland in December for a ski vacation. But hitting the slopes isn’t the only motivator: The couple say they are also trying to sidestep steep U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods. They intend to buy a luxury watch — a Patek Philippe Nautilus — from the watchmaker in Geneva, Jamie said, as a present for her husband’s birthday. Their budget for the watch: $50,000 to $75,000. If successful, buying …

President Donald Trump’s unprecedented attempt to fire Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook will likely end up in the hands of the Supreme Court, according to Wall Street economists and analysts. Trump on Monday evening claimed to fire Cook “for cause” effectively immediately over allegations she made false statements on applications for home mortgages. It is the first time a president has attempted to fire a Fed governor since Congress established the central bank in …

Uncertainty around tariffs has caused even the wealthiest buyers of Lamborghini supercars to hold off on their purchases, CEO Stephan Winkelmann told CNBC. While the White House recently announced an agreement with Europe on a 15% tariff rate, that rate hasn’t yet taken effect for cars. Lamborghini and other European automakers are still paying a tariff rate of 27.5% on exports to the U.S. With the price of a Lamborghini starting at $400,000, many buyers …