President Donald Trump met with business leaders Tuesday to discuss infrastructure and tax reform — both of which appear months away. Following the meeting, Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of the hedge fund Blackstone, told Bloomberg TV that tax reform will take much longer than Trump's failed healthcare overhaul.
"There has to be something taken away from other people to have the revenue in order to finance the tax cuts,” said Schwarzman “So there are a lot of different ideas people thinking about what the tradeoffs are."
Trump did get good news about the country's credit rating. Fitch reaffirmed a AAA rating. The agency also predicted higher economic growth, 2.6 percent for next year. This is up from the current 2 percent, a number Trump and congressional Republicans have dismissed as too low. But as Republicans push for faster growth, the Fed is taking its foot off the gas.
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Monday the near decade-long era of monetary stimulus is over.
“Now allowing the economy to coast and remain on an even keel," Yellen said.
Trump has three appointments to make to the Federal Reserve Board, which could change the Fed’s direction.
