JP Morgan chief defends independence of Fed chair amid Trump attacks

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The boss of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, has defended the “absolutely critical” independence of the Federal Reserve chair, as Donald Trump continues to demand immediate cuts in interest rates.The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said on Tuesday that a formal process for choosing a successor to the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, had already begun – despite the fact that his term does not end until next May.Trump has repeatedly criticised Powell, calling him “very dumb” and a “major loser”, and urging him to slash interest rates.The president posted a handwritten note to Powell on social media last week, saying: “You have cost the USA a fortune and continue to do so.You should lower the rate – by a lot!”Powell has said in turn that rate cuts have been delayed by Trump’s tariff policies, which many policymakers fear will boost inflation.

Data for June, published on Tuesday, showed the annual rate of inflation rising to 2.7%, from 2.4% a month earlier.Speaking to reporters as JP Morgan reported its quarterly earnings on Tuesday, Dimon cautioned against interfering with the workings of the US central bank.“The independence of the Fed is absolutely critical – and not just for the current Fed chair, whom I respect, Jay Powell, but for the next Fed chair,” he said.

“Playing around with the Fed can often have adverse consequences, the absolute opposite of what you might be hoping for,”Dimon’s remarks came as Bessent told Bloomberg TV that the White House would press ahead with choosing a replacement for Powell,“There are a lot of great candidates,And we’ll see how rapidly it progresses,It’s President Trump’s decision and it will move at his speed,” he said.

Powell was given a round of applause by fellow central bankers at a European Central Bank conference earlier this month in Sintra, Portugal, when he was asked about the president’s attacks,White House insiders have sent conflicting signals about Powell’s future,Bessent suggested Trump would not sack the Fed chair,“President Trump’s said numerous times he is not going to fire Jay Powell,” the treasury secretary said, adding: “I think an independent central bank is very important for the conduct of monetary policy,”But Kevin Hassett, director of Trump’s national economic council, said over the weekend that removing Powell was “being looked into”.

Hassett is regarded as a potential contender for the role himself,Fed independence is seen as crucial to maintaining investors’ confidence, with policymakers deemed more likely to be able to bring inflation under control without political interference,Trump’s earlier attacks on Powell were seen as one factor behind the bond market selloff on Wall Street in April that led to the 90-day “pause” on tariffs – a deadline that has since been extended from 9 July to 1 August,
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Georgina Hayden’s recipe for red curry chicken and courgette burgers

I present to you my new favourite summer burger, which has been on our menu at home ever since its arrival in my kitchen. It’s one of those recipes where the ease is almost embarrassing. How can something so delicious be so straightforward? The burgers themselves are a simple food processor job; if you don’t have one, use chicken mince and make sure you really mix in the curry paste and courgette by hand. The accompaniments are also key: the lime-pickled shallots, the abundance of herbs and the creaminess of the mayo all work so well together. Turn up to a barbecue with a tray of these and I guarantee you’ll be dishing out the recipe in no time

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Five beef patties, four cheese slices, bacon, lettuce, tomato … Burger King’s sumo of a burger enters the ring

Japan can legitimately claim to be home to some of the best food on the planet. But it usually has little appetite for supersizing it.That changed on Friday with Burger King’s gargantuan but curiously named Baby Body Burger, tipping the scales at nearly 680g (1.5lb). As part of a collaboration with the Japan Sumo Association, whose July wrestling tournament has just started, the burger checks in at 1,876 calories

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Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for cashew rice bowls with stir-fried tofu, broccoli and kimchi | Quick and easy

These were an absolute hit with my children, albeit minus the cashews, and as any parent with toddlers who refuse to let their food touch other food will know, that’s a breakthrough. It’s well worth making the whole quantity here, because any leftovers are perfect for fried rice the next day – just make sure you cool the rice after making it, then refrigerate immediately and reheat until piping hot the next day.Kimchi brings a lovely contrast, so if you have or can get some, do add it.Prep 15 min Cook 20 min Serves 4200g white or basmati rice4 garlic cloves, peeled, 3 finely grated, 1 left whole 75g cashew nuts2 tbsp sesame oil 7-8cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced1 small head broccoli, roughly chopped into 1cm pieces280g firm tofu, roughly chopped into 1cm cubes1 tsp flaky sea salt½ tsp turmeric Juice of 1 limeTo serveKimchiSliced red chilli (optional)First, cook the rice, and this is my magic microwave method: you’ll need a large Pyrex bowl and a plate that will neatly cover the top and act as a lid. Put the rice, 400ml just-boiled water and the whole garlic clove in the bowl, cover with the plate and cook on medium (that is, if your microwave’s maximum power setting is 1,000W, you want to cook it at 800W) for 11 minutes

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Grilled sardines and tomato and anchovy pie – Irina Janakievska’s Balkan recipes for summer

Along the Adriatic coast, sardines are usually grilled over an open fire (na gradele) and served with lemon, excellent local olive oil and blitva, a side dish of young swiss chard, potato and garlic. Fresh sardines are key (they should smell of the sea) and do cook them whole (the heads add wonderful flavour and the small bones soften during cooking). On the Croatian island of Vis, two beloved pogačas (bread)– viška and komiška – tell a tale of friendly rivalry. Both are savoury bread pies (pogača being the word for bread and similar in both composition and etymology to Italian focaccia) filled with onions and salted fish (typically anchovies or sardines), a nod to the island’s ancient fishing and seafaring heritage. The key difference? Tomatoes

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How to make perfect bún chả – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …

When I visited Hanoi a decade ago, I was living in Hackney, east London, an area with a large Vietnamese community, so I felt, if not quite an expert, at least a little familiar with the cuisine. But it turned out no number of nights out on Kingsland Road could prepare me for the assault on the senses that was my first meal in the city, crouched on a plastic stool by the roadside and enjoying what Uyen Luu describes as “the irresistible sweet, treacly smell of barbecued patties and caramelised pork”, all mingled with traffic fumes.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more

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Lapin, Bristol: ‘We’re not in Cafe Rouge now’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

Peculiar, meta, slightly earnest, definitely deliciousThe French, at least at one stage in culinary history, would not have balked at eating the entire cast of Watership Down in a robust dijon sauce. The British, on the other hand, have always been rather less keen, so it was surprising to hear reports that Lapin, a new French restaurant in Bristol, had been struggling to keep fluffy bunnies on its classic, single-sheet menu due to supply reasons, apparently because its game dealer couldn’t shoot them quickly enough to meet Lapin’s demand. Instead, its diners had had to settle for confit duck leg, coarse sausage and deep-fried pig’s head.Lapin patently aims to offer actual French cooking, albeit stopping short of the likes of pungent andouillette, complete with its tubey innards escaping on to the plate. That said, I’d bet that chef Jack Briggs-Horan and restaurateur Dan O’Regan tinkered with the idea before accepting that serving something quite so smelly in a small, repurposed shipping container was probably one Gallic step too far