The Federal Reserve is nearly certain to keep its key interest rate unchanged at its policy meeting this week, just a few days after President Donald Trump said he would soon demand lower rates.

Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, have cut their rate for three meetings in a row, to about 4.3%, from a two-decade high of 5.3%. Yet with several recent economic reports showing healthy hiring and some progress on inflation, policymakers have said that the pace of rate cuts will slow this year. Some have suggested that few reductions are needed at all.

While the two-day meeting that ends Wednesday may be uneventful, it nevertheless kicks off what is likely to be a turbulent year for the Fed. Trump, last Thursday, made clear he expects to comment on interest-rate policy and said, “I know interest rates much better than they do.”

At the same time, Fed officials are also navigating a delicate period for the economy: They want to keep borrowing costs high enough to push inflation back to their 2% target, without keeping them too high for too long and plunging the economy into a recession.

The last time he was in the White House, Trump threatened to fire Powell, whom he appointed in late 2017, but he has more recently backed off such threats. Powell’s term as chair ends in May 2026, when Trump can name a replacement.

Until then, Trump’s comments Thursday suggest he expects to regularly second-guess the Fed in public, despite a decades-long tradition among previous presidents of taking a hands-off approach to the central bank.

Meanwhile, Fed officials have clearly signaled they expect to skip a rate hike, at least in January, to evaluate the job market and economy.

Annual inflation was just 2.4% in November, according to the Fed’s preferred gauge, only modestly above its goal, but it has been stuck there for about six months.

Hiring rebounded in December, reversing a downshift in the fall that had unnerved the Fed. Policymakers had agreed to cut the Fed’s key rate by a half-point in September, partly because they worried that a then-weakening job market could lead to a recession. Yet the jobless rate ticked down to a low 4.1% last month.

Fed officials in December signaled that they expected to reduce rates just twice this year.

A big unknown for the Fed this year is whether Trump will impose tariffs, how sweeping they will be, and whether they will push up prices. Mass deportation of immigrants could also force employers to pay more for workers to fill jobs, which could also lift inflation.

— Associated Press

Asset manager wants changes at U.S. Steel

An asset manager is seeking to quash Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel and oust the leadership of the U.S. steelmaker after taking a stake in the company.

Ancora Holdings Group, with $10 billion in assets, reported acquiring a 0.18% stake in the Pittsburgh company. It said Monday that U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt and the company’s board have prioritized a sale to Nippon because they stand to receive more than $100 million if it goes forward.

President Joe Biden blocked the nearly $15 billion acquisition this month.

But the deal is not dead yet. The deadline to unwind the proposed takeover was extended by the Biden administration and this month U.S. Steel and Nippon challenged the Biden decision in a federal lawsuit.

Ancora is seeking an independent slate of directors at U.S. Steel and new CEO that are committed to walking away from the Nippon deal.

Ancora wants new board members to focus on U.S. Steel’s turnaround, not selling the company. It also wants them to pursue the $565 million breakup fee from Nippon.

49-day Deer River health impasse ends

A 49-day picket ended Sunday after Essentia Health Deer River and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa members reached a contract agreement. It was the longest strike by the union in over four decades, according to a news release.

The new contract was approved by the full membership Jan. 26 with 92% support. The group includes 70 workers in the Deer River hospital and nursing home/long-term care facility.

Employees will return to work this week as the facility begins regular operations.

Contract negotiations began in August with the union requesting a 55% wage increase. A five-day Unfair Labor Practice strike followed, with union members returning to work Nov. 9.

— From news services