On The Money: Trump ‘not thrilled’ at Fed chief’s interest rate hikes | Trump says no concessions on Turkey tariffs | Why time is running out for NAFTA talks

Happy Monday and welcome back to On The Money, where we’re not thrilled about the Halloween candy sales overtaking the end of summer. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

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THE BIG DEAL–Trump ‘not thrilled’ at Fed chief’s interest rate hikes: President Trump on Monday ramped up his criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the central bank’s interest rate hikes in an interview with Reuters.

Trump told Reuters that he was “not thrilled” with Powell, who he appointed to lead the Fed and that the bank should do “what’s good for the country” by holding off on rate hikes.

“I should be given some help by the Fed,” Trump told Reuters, adding that he’d continue to criticize the independent central bank if it move ahead with planned interest rate hikes.

Trump has broken from the majority of Republicans on monetary policy with his support for low interest rates to stimulate the economy. Most right-leaning economists and lawmakers say keeping rates low could risk rampant inflation and financial market bubbles. I’ll tell you why here.

What’s going on?

• The Fed has raised interest rates seven times since 2015 after slashing them during the 2008 recession as the U.S. experiences record low unemployment and stable inflation.
• Powell, a Republican, supported former Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s decisions to hold off on rate hikes until late 2015. He voted in lockstep with Yellen, who also supported gradual rate hikes in her final years leading the Fed.
• Powell took over as Fed chairman in February and the bank has raised interest rates twice since his ascension. The Fed is expected to hike rates again in September and December, moving the federal funds rate to a relatively low 2.25 to 2.5 percent target range.
• Raising interest rates would increase the costs of borrowing money, which could slow economic growth and job gains. Trump and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow have both called on Powell to ease off rate hikes to keep the booming economy growing and dismissed concerns about inflation.

Further reading: Trump criticized Powell, Fed rate hikes at GOP fundraiser: reports

ON TAP TOMORROW

• Senate Banking Committee: Hearing on new proposed Russia sanctions, 10 a.m.
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee: Hearing on the energy efficiency of blockchain technologies and potential applications to the energy industry, 10 a.m.
• Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee: Hearing on financial literacy, 2:30 p.m.

LEADING THE DAY

Trump says no concessions on Turkey tariffs: Trump also told Reuters on Monday that he isn’t concerned that tit-for-tat tariffs will harm Europe’s economy while vowing not to make any concessions with Turkey to free a U.S. pastor being detained there.

Trump said that he thought he had a deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he worked to help him free a Turkish citizen being held in Israel.

In return he thought Erdogan would then release pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been held in Turkey since 2016.

“I think it’s very sad what Turkey is doing,” he said during the interview. “I think they’re making a terrible mistake. There will be no concessions.”

Ankara has denied ever agreeing to release Brunson. 

Automakers tell Trump to stop driving up prices: Eight auto associations have banded together in what they say is an unprecedented coalition to oppose new tariffs President Trump has proposed on foreign autos, saying they represent a “significant threat” to the U.S. economy.

The coalition, calling itself the Driving American Jobs Coalition, says that the proposed import taxes would raise auto prices across the board by as much as $6,900, making it harder for consumers to buy cars, lowering sales for auto dealers, and leading to job losses in the industry. 

“The impact of these proposed tariffs are especially harmful to American jobs because they would hurt U.S. employment across the supply chain,” said Matt Blunt, a former governor of Missouri and the head of the American Automotive Policy Council, one of the eight groups in the new coalition.

That group includes the major U.S. automakers Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, which employ about 250,000 people in the United States. The Hill’s Vicki Needham tells us more about the group here.

Time running out for Trump’s NAFTA talks: President Trump’s divide-and-conquer strategy to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is reaching a critical moment.

After three-way talks with Canada and Mexico fell apart in June, the U.S. has been conducting one-on-one negotiations with Mexico, leaving Canada on the sidelines. 

On Thursday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he hoped for a breakthrough in the coming days, even as Trump publicly talks tough by threatening to walk away from the table.

“We’re either going to do a fair NAFTA for us or we’re not going to do NAFTA at all,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting Thursday.

But the risky strategy of working out a deal with Mexico first and then forcing Canada to come on board faces a slew of hurdles and looming deadlines that experts warn will be difficult for the administration to overcome. The Hill’s Niv Elis tells us why here.

Also: Trump economic advisor Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday that Canada is going to want in on the trade deal that U.S. negotiators are on the verge of crafting with Mexico.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Karen Petrou is an influential adviser to bankers and regulators who’s working on a way to match investors with medical researchers as she pursues a cure for blindness.
• The Washington, D.C. city council on Monday slammed White House budget director Mick Mulvaney for suggesting that the heavily Democratic city inflated the costs of President Trump’s military parade to prevent it from happening.
• The CEO of the world’s largest shipping company, A.P. Moller-Maersk, warned that President Trump’s trade war “could easily” end up hitting the U.S. economy harder than the rest of the world.
• The St. Louis Fed argues in a new study that “unnecessary protectionism, government misallocation, corruption, and financial instability have been key institutional barriers causing countries to either fall into the poverty trap or lag behind without a sustainable growth engine.”
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday blasted what he called an “attempted economic coup” amid heightened tensions with the U.S.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Cryptocurrency exchanges are forming their own group to help self-regulate their growing industry. The Virtual Commodity Association, announced Monday, includes companies Bitstamp, bitFlyer USA, Bittrex, and Gemini, which was founded by the Winklevoss twins.
• White women from parts of the U.S. where sexist attitudes are prevalent go on to make less money and work less than women from areas with less sexist attitudes, according to new research from the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute.
• Some Tesla auto parts suppliers are worried they won’t get paid, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, offers an interesting analysis of Turkish bank balance sheets in a Twitter thread.