"US President Donald Trump’s persistent harassment of the Federal Reserve came to a head recently with his attempt to fire Lisa Cook, the first Black woman member of the Fed’s Board of Governors. Since attacks on Fed independence strike fear into the hearts of economists, one might expect them to rattle markets, too. After all, financial returns generally benefit from a widely shared perception of a stable, credible monetary policy, which itself depends on monetary authorities’ institutional separation from elected officials.

Yet markets have remained relatively calm despite a wildly volatile tariff schedule, drastic cuts to federal research funding, a crackdown on immigration, and attacks on independent data-gathering and policymaking institutions. While many features of Trump’s agenda should concern those who hold capital, giving them strong incentives to mobilize and push back, we have seen very little resistance from big business interests. Why?

As someone who studies international political economy and financial-market actors, six possibilities occur to me."

Continue reading: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/why-markets-remain-calm-despite-trump-turmoil-by-erin-lockwood-2025-09