As the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte oversees the system that helps keep the U.S. mortgage market liquid.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a Thursday letter countered criticisms leveled at the central bank by a top White House official over a $2.5 billion renovation project.

Low rates can also inflate financial markets. Investors, unable to generate strong returns in safe assets, such as short-term Treasury notes, will move into progressively higher-risk assets, where returns are higher, but so is the danger of steep losses.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday it’s “highly unlikely” that he’ll fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after signaling otherwise a day earlier in a private meeting with lawmakers.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is not planning to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but he kept the door open to the possibility and renewed his criticism of the central bank chief for not lowering interest rates.

The president floated the idea of firing the Fed chief to lawmakers, then said such a move was "very unlikely."

There could be a revolt in global markets, including a possible collapse in the dollar and US bonds, if President Donald Trump were to take the unprecedented step of removing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from the helm of the central bank,

The S&P 500 reverses earlier losses to close just shy of a record.