FOX BUSINESS – Latest | Business & Commerce

The Federal Reserve on Thursday responded to the Trump administration's inquiry into cost overruns in the central bank's renovations of its Washington, D.C., headquarters amid its efforts to pressure the Fed into lowering interest rates.The Fed's renovations of its headquarters, the Marriner S. Eccles Building, and another building in the nation's capital have experienced cost overruns, which pushed the estimated cost from about $1.9 billion before the COVID pandemic to $2.5 billion. Trump allies have used the over-budget renovation project to open a new front in an effort to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates. Last week, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought sent a letter to Powell asking about his testimony and the compliance of design elements with plans submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). It is also floated as a pretext to fire Powell for "cause."Powell responded Thursday, noting the Fed established… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.

FIRST ON FOX: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced Friday its intention to create dedicated security lines for families traveling at some airports across the US. The initiative is part of the Department of Homeland Security’s "Families on the Fly" campaign to alleviate difficulties for families traveling in groups, which also includes reducing invasive pat-downs on minors, and eliminating self-identified breast milk screening in TSA PreCheck lanes."DHS and TSA are committed to making the airport security experience as smooth as possible for traveling families," Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told Fox News Digital. NEARLY 20-YEAR SHOE-OFF AIRPORT SECURITY POLICY IS ENDED BY TRUMP ADMINISTRATION"The ‘Families on the Fly’ campaign reflects our commitment to putting families first by ensuring their journey through security is as seamless and stress-free as possible while we continue to usher in President Trump’s vision for a new golden age of American travel."Current participating airports include Orlando International (MCO), Charlotte-Douglas… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.

Northrop Grumman is producing vital semiconductor chips in the U.S.The Virginia-based defense company manufactures millions of chips in America each year, FOX Business correspondent Max Gorden reported Friday from its factory in Baltimore, Maryland.At the facility, Gorden showed a "wafer" that contained "thousands of microchips." "They’re all on here, and then they’re eventually cut out toward the end of the process," he explained. GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HEREHe also showed the "clean room" where he said Northrop Grumman staff were "actually testing out these microchips" before they left the production line. The company makes the chips for usage in military aircraft, defense ground radar systems, electronic warfare systems, space and weather satellites and other technology, according to Northrop Grumman. Production of a chip typically takes "a couple of weeks" but the defense company can "speed things up if there’s a national security need," according to Gorden.The chips can cost anywhere… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.

The internet has seen a deluge of reactions to an on-screen moment during a Coldplay concert that has led to allegations of an affair between two executives at a tech company.Footage taken at a recent Coldplay show in Foxborough, Massachusetts, surfaced this week, capturing a man and woman trying to hide from a concert camera after it broadcast them on a screen in the stadium while wrapped in each other’s arms.  "Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy," singer Chris Martin remarked in the video.COLDPLAY'S CHRIS MARTIN CALLS OUT COUPLE ON KISS CAM, SPARKING AFFAIR ACCUSATIONSAmateur online sleuths went to work and claimed the gray-haired man and blonde woman are Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot. Footage of the couple reacting to being shown on the screen has gone viral, with some social media users alleging an affair between Byron and Cabot. FOX Business… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.

According to a J.P. Morgan research note, President Donald Trump's efforts to pressure the Federal Reserve into cutting interest rates could risk undermining the central bank's independence, raising the risk of inflation or politically-influenced monetary policy mistakes. Trump has repeatedly urged the central bank to cut interest rates by as much as three percentage points to boost the economy and lower the cost of servicing America's more than $36 trillion national debt. He has suggested on several occasions that he may attempt to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, only to backtrack and repeat his calls for lower rates. This week, Trump acknowledged that he discussed potentially firing Powell in a meeting with House Republicans, but told reporters that he doesn't think he will move forward with that plan.Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at J.P. Morgan, wrote in a note Wednesday that with respect to Powell's potential removal the "immediate crisis may have passed,… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.