Consumers' inflation expectations, by some measures, are also the highest in decades. Inflation has been above the Fed's 2% target for over four years, and the prospect of a dovish Fed under the stewardship of a new Trump-friendly Chair could keep it that way.

Asian shares are mostly higher after Wall Street rose to records following better-than-expected updates on the economy and a mixed set of profit reports from big U.S. companies

This past April, when President Donald Trump started flirting with the notion of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, stocks and the dollar tumbled because investors worried that even talking about such a move crossed a red line.

U.S. stock futures relentlessly pushed ahead as they were uniformly higher early Friday, after the broader market scaled a fresh peak in the previous session. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller called for a 25-basis-point rate cut at the July rate-setting meeting,

Wall Street appears calm after President Donald Trump walked back his earlier threats to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

By Stella Qiu SYDNEY (Reuters) -Asian shares tracked Wall Street higher on Friday as still-strong U.S. economic data and robust corporate earnings offset tariff worries, while the yen headed toward a second successive week of loss ahead of Japan's upper house election.

Top voices on Wall Street have expressed alarm over the idea that Trump could fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, emphasizing the need for Fed independence.

PepsiCo jumped 7.5% after delivering revenue and profit that topped Wall Street’s expectations. The drink and snack giant also stood by its financial forecasts given in April, which projected lower full-year profit than previous forecasts due to increased costs from tariffs and a pullback in consumer spending.

Many on Wall Street have privately worried that political pressure will undermine the Federal Reserve’s credibility.

Kevin Hassett, Trump’s longest-serving economic adviser, is a leading contender to become the next Federal Reserve chairman, a position with significant influence over interest rates and the U.S. econ

Wall Street watches the major averages whipsaw on Wednesday, following a softer-than-anticipated wholesale inflation report and news that President Trump indicated that he will fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.