Billionaire Bill Ackman Calls for Abrupt Fed Rate Cut, Warns US Economy Decelerating

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman believes that the Federal Reserve should slash rates soon amid a weakening US economy.

In a new CNBC interview, the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management says that President Trump’s Liberation Day has triggered a slowdown in the economy.

On April 2nd, dubbed by Trump as Liberation Day, Trump slapped a sweeping set of tariffs on all foreign goods entering the US, aiming to revitalize domestic manufacturing. The president also imposed reciprocal tariffs on dozens of nations based on unfair trading practices.

Says Ackman,

“I think a small cut relatively soon makes sense because I think what’s happened is Q1 is benefited by some frontloading of purchases and a bit of tariffs. The uncertainty associated with Liberation Day, so to speak, has caused many businesses to pause and wait to see what’s going to happen, and that’s going to be reflected in Q2. 

There’s definitely a deceleration in the economy now, absolutely. I think what’s important is that tariffs get resolved in the relative short term.”

While Ackman is calling for an abrupt rate cut, data from the CME Group’s Fed Watch Tool suggests that there’s a 95.2% chance that policymakers will keep interest rates steady this month.

The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to announce its decision on May 7th.

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