Trump's Fed Fury Just "Noise," Says Morgan Stanley Bigwig

Simonetti Dismisses Presidential Outbursts Amid Market Mayhem

Katerina Simonetti, a heavy hitter at Morgan Stanley, isn't sweating President Donald Trump's latest tirade against Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. She's calling it straight-up "noise."

Caught on CNBC's 'Fast Money', Simonetti, who's a senior vice president and private wealth advisor, isn't fazed by Trump's verbal assault on Powell. She's seen this movie before.

Trump's been lobbing insults at the Fed chair since 2019, once mocking him as a "golfer who can't putt." Now, with the Fed's handling of interest rates under fire, Trump's blasting Powell for being "too late" on every move. It's the latest in a long line of presidential outbursts.

Even with inflation cooling off, the stock market's been in a funk all week. Powell, who Trump claims is on his way out, is standing firm and refusing to resign. Over on 'Mad Money', Jim Cramer says Powell's caught in a brutal squeeze.

Trump took to Truth Social earlier this week, slamming Powell and hinting at a quick "termination." There's buzz that Trump's even mulling over getting the U.S. Supreme Court involved to boot Powell out.

But Simonetti isn't buying it. She says Trump's threats are just background noise that won't shake up the markets or the Fed's game plan. She's adamant that it's the hard data, not political hot air, that drives the Fed's moves.

She's also flagging recent tariffs as a major inflation headache that the Fed needs to chew on before making any calls. Simonetti figures Powell's got his eye on the ball, and she's not expecting any rate cuts in 2025. She's betting Powell will see out his term.

Simonetti's take comes as the markets are reeling from a double whammy of tariffs and the U.S.-China trade war, sending investors into a tailspin.

Trump's been hammering Powell for not slashing interest rates, especially when the European Central Bank just dropped its key deposit facility rate by 25 basis points.

The White House's tariff ramp-up to 245% against China has sent risk asset markets into a nosedive. Wednesday saw stocks take a brutal hit, and the crypto world wasn't spared, with Bitcoin (BTC) crashing below $80,000.

Bitcoin's clawed back above $85,000 since then, but the pressure's still on. Meanwhile, the U.S. stock market ended the week lower, just before the Good Friday break.