The daily business briefing: November 23, 2021

Biden says he's nominating Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a second term, federal contractors' minimum wage rises to $15 an hour, and more

Jerome Powell
Jerome Powell
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

1. Biden nominates Fed Chair Jerome Powell for second term

President Biden said Monday that he is nominating Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to serve a second term. The choice of Powell sent a message of continuity at the central bank that pleased investors. "Put directly: At this moment both of enormous potential and enormous uncertainty for our economy, we need stability and independence at the Federal Reserve. Jay has proven the independence that I value in a Fed chair," Biden said at the White House on Monday. The decision upset many progressives who wanted someone who would be tougher on bank regulations and climate change and had lobbied for Biden to pick Fed Governor Lael Brainard. Biden said he would nominate Brainard to be vice-chair of the Fed's board of governors.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.