Jerome Powell Defends Fed Independence as Gold Surpasses $5,500 per Ounce

Jerome Powell defended the independence of the Federal Reserve after the central bank held interest rates between 3.5% and 3.75% while gold prices surged to a record $5,500.The decision occurred during a Supreme Court battle over the removal of Governor Lisa Cook and a DOJ probe into headquarters renovations that Jerome Powell labeled as political intimidation by Donald Trump.Financial markets saw the S&P 500 briefly hit 7,000 as corporations like Meta Platforms and Tesla reported strong earnings despite internal dissent from Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller.