New York (CNN Business)Wall Street, markets and business crave certainty. For the past month, they have been contending with confusion and disorder.
Uncertainty abounds at the end of a volatile year: Investors question the Federal Reserve’s plans for 2019, and President Donald Trump asked aides if he could fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Congress entered a budget stalemate with the president, partially shutting down the government. Trade policy that for years tried to stitch economies together is in retreat. Economists warn that the pace of US economic growth will slow next year.
To cap that off, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin issued a bizarre statement Sunday, saying he called top bank executives to assess their liquidity. He asked if they had the ability to continue lending to consumers and businesses — at a time when confidence in banks had been high.
