Bob Fernandez

Jan 9, 2025 | wsj.com | Bob Fernandez

Michael Barr’s departure as vice chair for supervision at the Federal Reserve could help pave the way for bitcoin and other crypto assets to have a broader role in the U.S. financial system. But it isn’t the only avenue opening to President-elect Donald Trump that could allow him to ease crypto rules. Federal banking regulators during the Biden years, including Barr, have cracked down on crypto, viewing them as destabilizing—especially after the collapse of the fraud-riddled FTX crypto empire.

Dec 17, 2024 | propublica.org | Bob Fernandez |Craig McCoy |Dave Altimari |Ginny Monk

This article was produced in partnership with The Philadelphia Inquirer, which was a member of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in 2020-21. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. After a whistleblower exposed the criminal behavior of Endo, a drug manufacturer, the Justice Department waited more than a decade to bring charges against the company. Federal agencies said Endo owed up to $7 billion in criminal fines, back taxes and other charges.

Dec 2, 2024 | wsj.com | Bob Fernandez

President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport immigrants in the country illegally could both push and pull on stubborn housing inflation that the Federal Reserve seeks to stamp out. Hispanic workers are a big part of the construction labor force, and mass deportations could lead to shortages of roofers and other specialized laborers on a home-building site. That could result in a tighter labor market and higher wages that spill into construction costs.

Nov 6, 2024 | wsj.com | Bob Fernandez

The surveys behind the monthly U.S. jobs report are getting fewer responses these days, and feedback could fall further because of budget restraints at the agencies conducting the outreach. Less input from workers, the unemployed and companies leads to less reliable employment data, potentially creating big headaches for Federal Reserve officials who use the information to make monetary policy decisions. Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Oct 21, 2024 | wsj.com | Bob Fernandez

Americans are sitting on more than $35 trillion in home equity after a 75% surge since early 2020 thanks to booming home prices. Homeowners often get itchy fingers to tap the equity like a personal ATM, and a rush to do so could pose an inflation risk for the Federal Reserve considering the massive pileup in value. But many homeowners today are reluctant to use it as a source of cash.