Trump, who is making gestures to dismiss Powell, denies it, but the market is jittery because of this "credible threat".

President Trump once again demonstrated his ability to shake the global financial markets. This time, he brought up one of his favorite topics: whether to dismiss Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. A White House official revealed that the president may soon remove Powell from his position, causing turmoil in the markets on Wednesday; similar chaos occurred after Trump launched a trade war in early April. Stocks, the US dollar, and long-term Treasury bonds fell rapidly, while short-term Treasury bonds rose. People speculated that no matter who Trump appoints to replace Powell, the new chairman will likely succumb to the president's will and cut interest rates. However, within an hour, Trump downplayed this possibility, saying he "had no intention" of firing Powell, the chairman he criticized for moving too slowly almost every day. From most indicators, the market's response was relatively muted, largely because Trump tends to make empty threats - not to mention whether a US president has the authority to actually dismiss a Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate policies have failed to please him. But the message from the market is clear. For many, the initial market reaction reflects deep-rooted anxiety, fearing that Trump may do something unimaginable in the long term: to fire Powell, ending the Fed's decades-long independence in setting monetary policy and facing the risk of triggering soaring inflation in the process.