Financial markets finished the week on a high note after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stood his ground against President Trump in a rare joint appearance by the two men Thursday. The S&P 500 finished 0.

The insinuation was unmistakable. Trump has long bristled at Powell’s resistance to his repeated demands for interest rate cuts, and this public confrontation appeared to be an attempt to link financial mismanagement to Powell’s broader performance as Fed chair.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell called President Donald Trump a liar to his face on Thursday during a public appearance at the Fed’s Washington

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The fact-check came in real time, and on camera, as Trump handed Powell a folded piece of paper with the higher cost estimate.

A firing of Jerome Powell by President Trump would likely open up a legal war never before seen in the US, without any guarantee of a courtroom victory for the White House.

President Trump is staring down a big week on the economy. White House trade talks are intensifying ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline for “reciprocal” tariffs and a Wednesday decision on interest rates