Trump using criminal investigation to force interest rate cut says central bank head

Business

The head of the US's central bank says the White House is using a criminal investigation to pressure the bank into cutting benchmark interest rates. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the Trump administration is threatening to indict him over an office renovation project. The public rift has sent the US dollar lower and gold prices higher, as global investors question the bank's longstanding independence. Powell says the threatened prosecution is meant to force him to cut rates - which