In February, the White House explored whether it could legally demote Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. This was right around the time President Donald Trump was making unprecedented statements about firing him. It isn’t clear what the administration concluded, but Fed spokeswoman Michelle Smith said in an email: “Under the law, a Federal Reserve Board chair can only be removed for cause.” —Josh Petri Here are today’s top storiesPatrick Shanahan withdrew from consideration to be Trump’s Secretary of Defense after reports of domestic abuse surfaced. An online pharmacy said it found another cancer-causing chemical in blood-pressure pills used by millions of patients. The next U.K. prime minister, whoever it is, has probably already lost Scotland, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
Trump kicks off his 2020 re-election campaign with a prime-time speech Tuesday. He has a problem, though: Most voters say they don’t like him. Apple, Google and Facebook are raiding animal research labs, poaching neuroscientists so they can help advance artificial intelligence. The new Bloomberg Businessweek B-school rankings are out. Here’s how 10,000-plus MBA students grade their schools. What’s Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is closely watching the Facebook-led launch of a new cryptocurrency called Libra. In one sense, this is incredibly huge news, Joe says: One of the biggest companies in the world wants to create a new global currency. In another sense, it’s not. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, Libra will be backed by traditional financial assets in traditional financial institutions with “investment-grade credit ratings.” What you’ll need to know tomorrow What you’ll want to read tonight Boston’s Seaport District used to be little more than parking lots and warehouses. Then the city began recruiting startups and big corporations to what it dubbed a new “Innovation District.” Offices, luxury condos, museums and some of the city’s hippest restaurants sprouted. The timing, however, seems poor, and the construction a function of pure hubris. The harbor already floods a dozen times each year. Like Bloomberg’s Evening Briefing? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com. You’ll get our unmatched global news coverage and two premium daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close, and much, much more. See our limited-time introductory offer. Interested in the future of health care? Sign up for Bloomberg’s Prognosis. Get the latest news and analysis about the people, science and industries driving the medical economy, delivered to your mailbox weekly. Download the Bloomberg app: It’s available for iOS and Android. |