US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has confirmed that the shortlist to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve has been narrowed down to five candidates.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Mr Bessent said he expects to conduct one more round of interviews before presenting a list to President Donald Trump next month.
“We’re going to do a second round and we hope to present a good slate to the President right after Thanksgiving,” Mr Bessent said. Mr Trump said he intends to make a decision on Mr Powell's replacement by the end of the year.
“We have a person who is not at all smart right now,” Mr Trump said, repeating his criticism of Mr Powell, whom he has repeatedly attacked over his refusal to enact steep interest rate cuts.
It is expected the Fed chair candidate will be nominated for the Fed governor's seat currently occupied by Stephen Miran, a White House economic adviser who is filling the seat in a temporary capacity through January.
Mr Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May 2026. His term as a governor on the Federal Reserve Board runs through January 31, 2028. He has not offered any hints on whether he will remain on the board past his term as Fed chair.
Mr Trump has been trying to exert greater control over the Fed this year with repeated calls to deliver large rate cuts. The Fed, which has thus far defied those calls, is widely expected to cut US rates by 25 basis points at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday.
Here are the five candidates on the shortlist:
Michelle Bowman
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman was first appointed to the Federal Reserve Board by Mr Trump in 2018 and was elevated to vice chair for supervision in June. Ms Bowman is considered to be one of the more hawkish officials on the current Fed board, although she dissented against the Federal Open Market Committee's decision to hold rates steady in July, arguing in favour of a 25 basis point cut at the time owing to underlying weakness in the jobs market.
Ms Bowman was also critical of the Fed's previous bank capital requirements – known as Basel III – before she was named the board's top regulatory official. Ms Bowman said in September that the Fed and other bank regulators are expected to pitch a new version of the rules that is expected to be more responsive to industry concerns.
Kevin Hassett
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, is a top economic ally of Mr Trump. This is the second time Mr Hassett has served in the Trump administration, having first joined in 2018 as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors before leaving the post in 2019. He returned to the White House in 2020 to advise Mr Trump on economic policy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Hassett also served on the White House's economics team as part of the Abraham Accords.
Between serving in the first and second Trump administrations, Mr Hassett joined the private equity firm Affinity Partners, founded by Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law.
Rick Rieder
Rick Rieder is BlackRock's chief financial officer of global fixed income. Speaking to CNBC in August, Mr Rieder said the US economy has convinced him that this is the “best investment environment ever”.
Christopher Waller
Christopher Waller, another Trump appointee to the Fed board, is currently serving a term that is due to expire on January 31, 2030. Mr Waller has been one of the leading voices on the Fed board to cut interest rates this year, joining Ms Bowman in the July dissent. However, he voted in line with Mr Powell to cut rates by 25 basis points in September. And while he is pushing for a 25 basis point cut this week, he expressed caution on the pace of future cuts moving forward, drawing a contrast to Mr Trump.
“What I would want to avoid is rekindling inflationary pressure by moving too quickly and squandering the significant progress we have made taming inflation,” he said in a recent speech.
Kevin Warsh
Former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is also in the mix after being reportedly passed over for the treasury secretary position in Mr Trump's cabinet. Mr Warsh was former Fed chair Ben Bernanke's liaison between Washington and New York during the global financial crisis. While serving in that role, Mr Warsh helped to enable the sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase but also allowed the collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of the most significant moments during the 2007-08 financial crisis.
He has also emerged as a critic of Mr Powell and the current Fed board, arguing the US central bank has strayed from its remit and blaming it for mistakes that allowed for the post-Covid inflationary surge. Mr Warsh served in former president George W Bush's administration and also previously worked at Morgan Stanley.
Kandahar%20
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The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay
Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.
Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.
Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
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Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
The years Ramadan fell in May
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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