President, Federal Reserve Chair, Treasury Secretary Confer on U.S., Global Economic Problems

Nov. 18, 2019 (EIRNS)—While the intelligence coup operation continued on Monday morning to try to grind down President Donald Trump’s approval with the American people, the President met with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin about the U.S. economy. This is unusual in recent years. President Trump called the meeting.

No White House statement was released, but the President said on Twitter: “Just finished a very good & cordial meeting at the White House with Jay Powell of the Federal Reserve. Everything was discussed including interest rates, negative interest, low inflation, easing, Dollar strength & its effect on manufacturing, trade with China, E.U. & others, etc.”

Such meetings would be necessary if Trump begins to take action against a deepening recession and growing financial blowout threat. He will also need to be ready to reach out to the leaders of China, Russia, India and other major nations to change the world monetary system—most major economies are sinking faster than America’s.

At a time when estimates for fourth-quarter growth, made by the Federal Reserve banks, are for an annual growth rate well below 1%, this was more likely the subject of the meeting, than jawboning the Fed on interest rates. The Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, for example, currently prospects a fourth-quarter growth rate of 0.3%. Industrial production is falling for the second consecutive quarter. The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank has just produced a report that finds farm credit deteriorating along with rapidly accelerating farm bankruptcies, and forecasts that U.S. farm income will continue its now five-year plunge through 2020. The White House has just announced another farm bailout program due to trade.

The Federal Reserve’s statement read: “At the President’s invitation, Chair Powell met with the President and the Treasury Secretary Monday morning at the White House to discuss the economy, growth, employment and inflation. Chair Powell’s comments ... did not discuss his expectations for monetary policy, except to stress that the path of policy will depend entirely on incoming information that bears on the outlook for the economy. Finally, Chair Powell said that he and his colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee will set monetary policy ... to support maximum employment and stable prices and will make those decisions based solely on careful, objective and non-political analysis.”

Neither statement mentioned the “repo” or interbank lending crisis which is the open sign of financial crisis coming.

The deepening industrial recession will not hurt the President’s political standing if he takes actions against it. His willingness to change course and take bold, unexpected steps—and his desire to collaborate with Russia, China, and India among other important nations—is what causes Wall Street’s and the City of London’s determination to force him out of office.

Trump’s emergency actions have to begin with the breakup of hyper-speculating Wall Street banks (restoring Glass-Steagall); and meetings with those major national leaders on launching a new international system for the issuance of productive credit.