Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on the cuts by the Federal Reserve and their impact on presidential campaigning

The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years – a significant political boost for the Harris campaign. 

Rates have gone down by 0.5% to about 4.8%, a far bigger rate than economists had predicted. 

Policymakers expect the rate to fall another 0.5% this year and go down to around 3% by the end of 2026. 

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking that Donald Trump is complaining about the impact it will have for Harris’ campaign, calling the move by the Federal Reserve “sheer politics”. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right state side, Richard Dardel, morning, what do you widen
out in the bat? I assume he sees the FED
movers good for him and Kamela.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Absolutely, the economy is the biggest presidential campaign issue. We
hear that all the time. So Biden is claiming now
that the economic recovery has reached a long awaited turning
point in speech to the Economic Club of Washington, saying
that there's been significant progress. But he did not say
Mitchell a published, which, of course George W. Bush did
infamously during the Iraq War, putting up that big zone

(00:27):
on the aircraft carrier just before the fighting got really bad.
This time, the Dow has spike by more than six
hundred points for time. Dropped down a bit lower now,
but it was up at a new record high, which
doesn't quite gel with the Trump claims that the Harris
Biden teamer overseeing the great economic collapse. Biden said, as
you said before, that when he began his term, the

(00:47):
economy was in strife. Now to the pandemic and with
inflation spiraling. Now we have just seen the FED cutting
interest rates by half a point, first cuts its twenty twenty,
and people have been suffering with that fiscal policy. That's
what needs to be emphasized. The high interest rates have
cost many who are in the housing market or car
buying markets, or paying off debt. It's cost them for

(01:09):
years and years with those high interest rates. The Central
Bank also forecasts lowering interest rates by another half a
point before the end of the year, so all this
in time for the elections. President Biden tilted to that
today as well. We always believe women should be paid
equally for equal work, and there's not a single damned
job a woman can't do that the man can do,
including being President of the United States America. Well Murdoch

(01:30):
shown Wall Street Journal today headline the Fed goes big.
Inflation now is down to about two and a half percent.
The FED target has been two percent, so getting pretty close. Also,
the labor market is softening, so many economists would say
this rate count is necessary to stimulate the economy a bit.
But this is a significant political boost for the Harris campaign.
It would seem Trump is complaining about that, saying the

(01:51):
FED movers sheer politics. Still, the FED action is not
the call of any single individual. It was an eleven
to one vote on the FED panel so this appears
to be a soft landing. You could probably say that
to this point, although consumers regularly say they are yet
to feel it and vote. A sentiment, obviously is what
this election will be about.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
But you ain't in recession, Richard, which is where we
are currently now. This fascinating business of exploding stuff and
the Americans not knowing about.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
It pretty wild, isn't it, Anthony Blink? And the US
secuity of State is calling for restraint when it comes
to this, and the sabotage of those thousands of pages
and walkie talkies used by Hasbulla. That sabotage campaign has
led to more than thirty people killed and more than
three thousand people injured as these devices were detonated in
a couple of rounds as they were turned into mini grenades.
Former CIA man Bob Bea says this was done likely

(02:42):
by lacing the batteries with a small amount of explosives
then sending out that blast signal.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
It's a coded signal that they can just send out.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Well, we see the bloody results, do we not? The
US as it was told by Israel that some new
phase of attacks was expected, but they say they did
not know what was intended specifically had no role in this.
It appears the devices were altered by a front company
in Budapest, although they deny it using technology license by
a Tywanese company which denies any role. As well. A

(03:11):
UN panelties calling all this a quote terrifying violation of
international law. The question is what next? The head of
Haswal Hassen Azrala says there will be a quote decisive
and crushing response. So calls for peace in southern Lebanon
and Gaza seem to be floating in the wind.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
See you Monday, Maight I appreciate it? Richard Donald stateside
by the way, Carmen has got one hundred and eleven
Republican former officials endorsing her, not Trump, people who worked
for or served under Reagan Bush times one, Bush times
two in the letter. We believe that she possesses the
essential qualities to serve as president. Donald Trump does not.
They decried Trump for sowing daily chaos and government put

(03:50):
as personal interests before the country violated as over the office.
Former CII FBI director William Webster, former Director of National
Intelligence Negroponte, former US Trade Representative Carla Hills Robert Zolik
one hundred and eleven of them.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
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