President Donald Trump has opened up a new front in his attack on the Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome Powell: He says the alledged mismanagement of a building renovation project could be grounds for firing Powell.

The independence of central banks, which allows policymakers to operate free from political meddling, is considered sacrosanct by investors and economists.

Major construction work continues at the U.S. Federal Reserve building as U.S. President Donald Trump voices complaints about Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo (Reuters) -The spiraling cost of the Federal Reserve's years-long renovation of two historic buildings in Washington,

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite ended largely unchanged on Friday, having dipped earlier after a Financial Times report indicated U.S. President Donald Trump was pushing for steep new tariffs on European Union products.

The US president’s hardened stance aims to test the EU’s pain threshold after weeks of talks on a framework agreement that would have maintained a baseline tariff of 10 per cent on most goods. People familiar with the negotiations say Trump has also been unmoved by the latest EU offer to reduce car tariffs,

President Trump said he plans to write to many nations setting a blanket unilateral tariff rate, which he said could be 10% or 15%. "We’ll have well over 150 countries that we’re just going to send a notice of payment out" detailing tariffs,

For investors, the risk now is that the slow drip of news on tariffs leads to complacency about the damage they might cause-the Nasdaq stock index closed a record high yesterday.