WSJ Economy

President Trump’s campaign to exert more control over the Federal Reserve recently hit a new gear. Here are the basics on the long-running situation.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said anything that is infringing or attacking the independence of the central bank “is a mess.”

U.S. jobless claims ticked lower last week, showing that despite weaker hiring, the labor market has continued to avoid a rise in layoffs.

The People’s Bank of China is bolstering support for sectors deemed strategic by Beijing.

GDP in Europe’s largest economy rose 0.2% last year, showing signs of recovery after almost a decade in stagnation.

Economic activity rose 0.3% in November, a boost for the government as it seeks to build momentum after years of economic drift.

The central bank held its base rate steady for a fifth consecutive meeting and removed a reference to potential rate-cuts from its policy statement.

Greenlanders get heavily subsidized by Denmark, and any future mining boom will be costly.

Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran said a letter in Powell’s support signed by prominent central-bank officials from around the world was inappropriate.

The U.S. economy is best served by having an independent Federal Reserve that executes monetary-policy decisions based only on data and analysis, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said in a virtual conversation with the Wisconsin Bankers Association.

Home sales rose 5.1% in December for the biggest gain in nearly two years, although 2025 as a whole still ranks as one of the worst sales slumps in decades.

Prices charged by goods- and services-producing companies increased in November, but the month’s wholesale inflation was more modest than economists had expected.

The economists said those losses could be recouped if eurozone members lowered barriers to trade in goods and services within the currency area.

Food companies are overhauling brands as they work to ditch artificial dyes or pack protein into their products. New U.S. dietary guidelines could speed up the transformation.

Luis de Guindos said financial markets aren’t registering increased geopolitical uncertainties that have raised downside risks to economic growth.

The annual rate of inflation is likely to fall to the Bank of England’s 2% target by the middle of this year, aided by cheap imports from China, the rate-setter said.

The 2025 record showed that the world’s second-largest economy remained resilient despite facing steep Trump administration tariffs that slashed its exports to the U.S.

President Trump’s affordability push ahead of the midterm elections has turned some of the financial sector’s darlings into punching bags.

The JPMorgan chief reiterated his support of the Fed after the DOJ investigation.

The president has shifted focus to lowering costs amid polling that shows voters are worried about the cost of living.