Trump downbeat on Fed as markets nosedive
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday marked Christmas with a renewed attack on the central bank over plunging stocks, as he aired a catalogue of grievances in a downbeat gathering at the Oval Office.
High on the laundry list was the Democrats, whom he blamed for a partial government shutdown which dragged into its fourth day – paralyzing key federal services such as national parks – with no end in sight.
He denounced opposition lawmakers for denying him funding for his southern border wall and denounced them as hypocrites for criticizing his firing of FBI chief James Comey.
''It's a disgrace what's happening in our country. But other than that, I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas,'' the president said as he fielded reporters' questions after talking with members of the armed forces.
With the stock market on track for its worst December since the Great Depression, Trump berated the Federal Reserve for its stewardship of the economy, a regular recent complaint.
''They're raising interest rates too fast because they think the economy is so good but I think that they will get it pretty soon, I really do,'' Trump said.
His comments came after Asian markets suffered a holiday rout, with Tokyo suffering its worst finish since April 2017 after a brutal run on Wall Street that saw US stocks sink for a fourth straight session.
Markets have been roiled by ongoing uncertainty in the US, with Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin berated for holding a call with the six biggest US banks and then reporting on Twitter that the six CEOs have ''ample liquidity'' available.
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s legislature on Tuesday agreed to amend the country’s drug law to allow the licensed medical use of marijuana, as well as kratom, a locally grown plant traditionally used as a stimulant and painkiller.
Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to take such action, which is also under consideration in neighboring Malaysia. New Zealand’s government earlier this month enacted
Investors were also unnerved by weekend news reports that Trump had asked about the possibility of firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, accounts that Mnuchin said Trump has denied.
Asked by reporters whether he had confidence in Mnuchin, Trump answered ''yes I do,'' calling the treasury chief a ''very talented, very smart person.''
The stock market malaise comes with Trump refusing to sign a budget bill to keep the government funded as he demands $5 billion for a US-Mexico border wall – a pillar of his election platform.
Trump acknowledged the impasse has no foreseeable end date, telling reporters he couldn't say when the a law liberalizing the medical use of marijuana, which had previously been tightly restricted.
The Thai legislation passed its final reading at the National Legislative Assembly by a vote of 166-0 with 13 abstentions.
The changes, which become law when published in the Royal Gazette, legalize the production, import, export, possession and use of marijuana and kratom products for medical purposes. government would fully reopen.
''I can tell you it's not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they'd like to call it,'' he said.
Trump reaffirmed his claim on Twitter Monday that he had approved a contract for the construction of 115 miles (185 kilometers) of wall in Texas, although the White House has not offered any details on the project.
He said he would visit that stretch of the border ''at the end of January for the start of construction.''
The president said he aimed to have a ''renovated or brand new'' barrier stretching up to 550 miles across the 2,000-mile border by Election Day 2020, without explaining how it was going to be paid for. Purveyors, producers and researchers will need licenses to handle the drugs, while end-users will need prescriptions.
Recreational use of the drugs remains illegal and subject to prison terms and fines commensurate with the quantities involved.
Public hearings showed overwhelming support for the measure.
The bill introducing the legislative changes had noted that recent studies have shown that marijuana extract has medicinal benefits, which has prompted “many countries around the world to ease their laws by enacting legal amendments to allow their citizens to legally use kratom and marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.”
It added that despite being classified as an illegal drug, many patients have used marijuana to treat their diseases.