When the Fed stops buying or begins selling bonds, private investors must step in, often demanding higher yields to compensate for risk. That pushes mortgage rates higher, even if the Fed is cutting short-term interest rates at the same time.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell surprised many market-watchers on Wednesday when he declared that another interest rate cut in December was not a slam dunk. Perhaps even more surprising was his apparent suggestion that if boosting the labor market is the goal,

Trump lambasted Powell this week, calling him “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell” in a speech to Asian business leaders .

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman plans to reorganize the agency's supervision and regulation division and cut the unit's staff by about 30%, according to an email sent to staff Thursday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's top bank cop, Michelle Bowman, announced plans to reorganize the agency's supervision and regulation division and shrink the unit's staff by roughly 30%, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was rising Thursday to around 4.09%, after on Wednesday posting its biggest jump since July, according to Dow Jones Market Data. That was despite the Fed having just lowered its policy rate by a quarter-percentage point.

Gold futures rose modestly on Thursday on possible dip-buying, rebounding after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered interest rates in line with market expectations but Fed Chair Powell's remarks indicated a December rate cut is "not a foregone decision - far from it.