Will Powell be reappointed?

BEFORE he was appointed by former President Donald Trump to head the US central bank, Jerome "Jay" Powell, who had worked in the George HW Bush administration, was regarded as a conservative economist and an "inflation hawk" who identified with Republican policies.

But then, and like all his predecessors, Mr Powell, a former lawyer and financier, highlighted his political independence after becoming the Fed chair. In fact, he became a target of attacks by Republican President Trump who argued that by lowering interest rates, the US central bank was putting the American economy at a disadvantage vis-a-vis other economic competitors.

Indeed, President Trump had threatened to demote or even fire Mr Powell several times, and the expectation in Washington was that Mr Trump would replace him if he were to be re-elected for a second term as president.