What we’re reading (4/19)
“Trump To Replace Acting IRS Commissioner” (Wall Street Journal). “President Trump is replacing the acting IRS commissioner that he appointed just three days earlier, according to people familiar with the matter, making a sudden shift that continues an unusual upheaval at the tax agency. Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender will now run the Internal Revenue Service on an acting basis, becoming the fifth person to hold that job so far this year.”
“Trump Studying If Removing Powell Is Option, Hassett Says” (Bloomberg). “Donald Trump is studying whether he’s able to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, his top economist said Friday, a day after the president publicly criticized the head of the central bank for not moving fast enough to slash interest rates.”
“Strange Sell-Off In The Dollar Raises The Specter Of Investors Losing Trust In The US Under Trump” (Associated Press). “Among the threats tariffs pose to the U.S. economy, none may be as strange as the sell-off in the dollar. Currencies rise and fall all the time because of inflation fears, central bank moves and other factors. But economists worry that the recent drop in the dollar is so dramatic that it reflects something more ominous as President Donald Trump tries to reshape global trade: a loss of confidence in the U.S.”
“Capital One And Discover Merger Approved By Federal Reserve” (CNBC). “Capital One first announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Discover in February 2024. It will also indirectly acquire Discover Bank through the transaction, which was approved by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday.”
“OpenAI’s Latest Move Makes It Harder For Rivals Like DeepSeek To Copy Its Homework” (Business Insider). “In a bid to protect its crown jewels, OpenAI is now requiring government ID verification for developers who want access to its most advanced AI models.”
