President Donald Trump may get the Federal Reserve interest rate-hike pause he wants as his attacks on the Fed and the government shutdown roil stock markets and shave 2019 forecasts for economic growth.
The S&P 500 fell 2.7 percent on Christmas Eve, bringing U.S. stocks to the brink of a bear market after a drop of almost 20 percent from a September peak. Shares rallied Wednesday, snapping a four-day losing streak.
The latest drop came after Bloomberg News reported Dec. 21 that the president had discussed firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell following the central bank's Dec. 19 decision to lift interest rates for the fourth time this year.