Jerome Powell hints Fed open to pause, says won't quit even if Trump asks

Powell's Fed hiked rates four times last year and projections from its Dec. 19 meeting show officials expect two more hikes in 2019

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled the central bank could pause interest-rate increases if the U.S. economy weakened and pledged he will stay at his post even if President Donald Trump presses him to resign.

Invoking events of 2016, when the Fed held rates unchanged through most of the year amid financial market turmoil spurred by concerns over slower growth in China, Powell said he’s “listening sensitively to the message that markets are sending” about downside risks.

“With the muted inflation readings that we’ve seen, we will be patient as we watch to see how the economy evolves,” Powell said Friday on