Just after today's emergency meeting at the Fed, which has presumably concluded by now, as we first reported last night Obama was set to meet with the "independent" Federal Reserve chair. Moments ago the White House explained this was to allow the two to "exchange notes" and talk about the state of the US economy. Most crucially, Obama said he "was pleased with the way Yellen had fulfilled her job."
This is what the White House said they would discuss:
- WH SAYS OBAMA TO DISCUSS WORLD ECONOMY AND THE U.S. ECONOMY, AS WELL AS SOME CURRENT REGULATORY ISSUES, IN MEETING WITH FED CHAIR YELLEN
- WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: YELLEN MEETING CHANCE TO 'TRADE NOTES'
- EARNEST SAYS DOESN'T EXPECT OBAMA TO UNDERMINE YELLEN ON RATES
And perhaps because it is rather awkward that the two most important people in the world meet behind closed doors at such a critical time for the economy, White House speaker Josh Earnest felt compelled to add the following:
- President Obama “cares deeply about preserving both the appearance of and the fact of the independence of both the Federal Reserve” and Fed Chair Janet Yellen, White House Press Sec. Josh Earnest tells reporters in briefing.
- Wouldn’t anticipate “even in a confidential setting” that Obama “would have a conversation” with Yellen “that would undermine” the ability to make “critical financial decisions independently”
And speaking of Yellen's, and Obama's fulfilled jobs, here's a reminder of what "mission accomplished" looks like:
Near record high stock prices and near 40-year-low employment participation may not sound "pleasing" to some.
And as we noted earlier, the last time the "indepedent" Fed hedl an emergency meeting was just days before Yellen's first historic rate rise in years. Have the banks been complaining to Barack this time?