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A federal court has ruled that embattled Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook can remain in her position while she fights President Donald Trump’s efforts to fire her.The ruling, which will almost certainly be appealed, is a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to assert more control over the traditionally independent Fed, which sets short-term interest rates to achieve its congressionally mandated goals of stable prices and maximum employment. Congress has also sought to insulate the Fed from day-to-day politics.U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb late Tuesday granted Cook’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking her firing while the dispute makes its way through the courts. Cobb ruled that Cook would likely prevail in the lawsuit she filed late last month to overturn her firing.Trump, a Republican, said he was firing Cook on Aug. 25 over allegations raised by one of his appointees that she committed mortgage fraud related to two properties she purchased in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Atlanta in 2021, before she joined the Fed. Cook is accused of saying the properties were “primary residences,” which could have resulted in lower down payments and mortgage rates than if either was designated a second home or investment property.The White House insisted Trump had the right to fire Cook.“President Trump lawfully removed Lisa Cook for cause due to credible allegations of mortgage fraud from her highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said Wednesday in a statement. “This ruling will not be the last say on the matter, and the Trump Administration will continue to work to restore accountability and confidence in the Fed.”But Cobb ruled that the allegations likely weren’t sufficient legal cause to fire Cook. Under the law governing the Fed, governors can only be removed “for cause,” which Cobb said was limited to actions taken during a governor’s time in office.The “removal of a Federal Reserve Governor extends only to concerns about the Board member’s ability to effectively and faithfully execute their statutory duties, in light of events that have occurred while they are in office,” Cobb wrote. Cobb was appointed by President Joe Biden, a Democrat.“President Trump has not stated a legally permissible cause for Cook’s removal,” the ruling added.The decision means Cook will be able to participate in the Fed’s meeting Sept. 16-17, when it is expected to reduce its key short-term rate by a quarter-point to between 4% and 4.25%.Federal Reserve governors aren’t like cabinet secretaries and the law doesn’t allow a president to fire them over policy disagreements or because he simply wants to replace them. Congress sought to insulate the Fed from political pressure, the court noted, by giving Fed governors long, staggered terms that make it unlikely a president can appoint a majority of the board in a single term.“Allowing the President to unlawfully remove Governor Cook on unsubstantiated and vague allegations would endanger the stability of our financial system and undermine the rule of law,” Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a written statement. “Governor Cook will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed Board Governor.”The court also directed the Fed’s board of governors and its chair, Jerome Powell, “to allow Cook to continue to operate as a member of the Board for the pendency of this litigation.”Lowell had argued in court filings that Cook was entitled to a hearing and a chance to respond to the charges before being fired but was not provided either. The court agreed that she was not provided due process by the Trump administration. Her lawsuit denied the charges but did not provide more details.The case could become a turning point for the 112-year-old Federal Reserve. No president has sought to fire a Fed governor before. Economists prefer independent central banks because they can do unpopular things like lifting interest rates to combat inflation more easily than elected officials.Many economists worry that if the Fed falls under the control of the White House, it will keep its key interest rate lower than justified by economic fundamentals to satisfy Trump’s demands for cheaper borrowing. That could accelerate inflation and could also push up longer-term interest rates, such as those on mortgages and car loans. Investors may demand a higher yield to own bonds to offset greater inflation in the future, lifting borrowing costs for the U.S. government, and the entire economy.If Trump can replace Cook, he may be able to gain a 4-3 majority on the Fed’s governing board. Trump appointed two board members during his first term and has nominated a key White House economic adviser, Stephen Miran, to replace Adriana Kugler, another Fed governor who stepped down unexpectedly Aug. 1. The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on Miran’s nomination.Trump has said he will only appoint to the Fed people who will support lower rates.Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell and the other members of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee for not cutting the short-term interest rate they control more quickly. It currently stands at 4.3%, after Fed policymakers reduced it by a full percentage point late last year. Trump has said he thinks it should be as low as 1.3%, a level that no Fed official and few economists support.Powell recently signaled that the central bank was leaning toward cutting its rate at its meeting next week.Cook is the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor. She was a Marshall Scholar and received degrees from Oxford University and Spelman College, and prior to joining the board she taught at Michigan State University and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. AP writer Will Weissert contributed to this report. Christopher Rugaber and Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press
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Oracle Corp. started September by making headlines for layoffs. Then, on Tuesday, September 9, it reported first-quarter financial results that missed the mark for revenue and earnings. Yet, you wouldnt guess any of this based on how its stock has rallied. The software companys shares (NYSE:ORCL) rose over 32% through after-hours and into premarket trading on Wednesday. The boost comes down to Oracles revenue projections rather than the lackluster results for fiscal year (FY) 2026s first quarter. The company predicts that Oracle Cloud Infrastructures entire FY 2026 revenue will reach $18 billiona 77% jump year-over-year (YOY). Thats just the start. Oracle further expects revenue for its cloud infrastructure business to reach $32 billion in 2027, $73 billion the following year, and $114 billion and $144 billion in 2029 and 2030, respectively. ‘The who’s who of AI’ Oracle signed four multibillion-dollar contracts during quarter one, stemming from three different customers, it said. CEO Safra Catz stated in the report that the company expects to sign several more multibillion-dollar customers over the next few months. Then there was the July announcement that Oracle is teaming up with OpenAI to create 4.5 gigawatts of Stargate data center capacity in the U.S. Clearly, we had an amazing start to the year because Oracle has become the go-to place for AI workloads. We have signed significant cloud contracts with the who’s who of AI, including OpenAI, xAI, Meta, Nvidia, AMD, and many others, Catz said in an earnings call. At the end of Q1, Remaining Performance Obligations, or RPO, now top $455 billion. This is up 359% from last year and up $317 billion from the end of Q4. Our cloud RPO grew nearly 500% on top of 83% growth last year. Catz predicted that Oracles RPO will likely surpass $500 billion in the coming months. So with these developments in mind, investors dont seem bothered by Oracle reporting $14.93 billion in quarter one revenue, falling short of Wall Streets predicted $15.04 billion, according to consensus estimates cited by CNBC. There was also a slight miss in earnings per share, reaching $1.47 adjusted, rather than the $1.48 expected. Oracle Cloud Infrastructures tremendous predicted growth further overshadowed recent layoffs, which were reported by local outlets in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Kansas City, and elsewhere.
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Global shares mostly rose Wednesday, echoing record rallies on Wall Street after the latest update on the job market bolstered hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.France’s CAC 40 rose 0.8 in early trading to 7,809.80. Germany’s DAX edged up 0.6% to 23,856.74. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 9,263.14. U.S. shares were set to be mixed with Dow futures down 0.1% at 45,700.00, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.3% at 6,537.75.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% to finish at 43,837.67. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 8,830.40. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.7% to 3,314.53.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.0% to 26,200.26, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.1% to 3,812.22. Uncertainty is still in the air over U.S.-China tariff issues as bilateral talks continue.U.S. President Donald Trump has raised taxes on imports from China, triggering a tit-for-tat tariff war. The U.S. is currently charging an additional 30% tariff on Chinese goods and China is charging a 10% tariff under a de-escalation deal reached in May.Investors are also watching for the U.S. Federal Reserve possibly cutting its main interest rate for the first time this year at its next meeting in a week, in order to prop up the slowing job market. A report on Tuesday offered the latest signal of weakness, when the U.S. government said its prior count of jobs across the country through March may have been too high by 911,000, or 0.6%.That was before President Donald Trump shocked the economy and financial markets in April by rolling out tariffs on countries worldwide.The bet on Wall Street is that such data will convince Fed officials that the job market is the bigger problem now for the economy than the threat of inflation worsening because of Trump’s tariffs. That would push them to cut interest rates, a move that would give the economy a boost but could also send inflation higher.“The broader narrative is increasingly anchored on expectations that the Fed will deliver a rate cut at next week’s meeting,” said Ahmad Assiri, research strategist at Pepperstone.In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude added 58 cents to $63.21 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 56 cents to $66.95 a barrel.The rise in oil prices came amid escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Israel struck the headquarters of Hamas’s political leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as the group’s top figures gathered to consider a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.In currency trading, the U.S. dollar inched up to 147.53 Japanese yen from 147.37 yen. The euro fell to $1.1695 from $1.1714. Yuri Kageyama is on Threads Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
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