It's an odd time for an unscheduled meeting

It's an odd time for an unscheduled meeting

If you take everything at face value, the Trump-Powell meeting is a nothing story. The comments from both sides suggest a normal meeting with Powell repeating his recent comments about the economy and interest rates.

But consider this: It was an unscheduled meeting that took place in the White House residence rather than the West Wing. Powell was summoned by Trump.

Now this could just be Trump wanting to lambaste the Fed President privately much in the way he does publicly. If that's the case then the timing is odd. The S&P 500 hit an all-time record on Friday and the Fed hasn't been in the news.

The US dollar has been weakening since the news and part of that thinking is that Trump is twisting Powell's arm into doing something dovish. Maybe, but I doubt it.

How about this for a theory? Trump wanted to tell Powell to prepare for something on China. Perhaps Trump is getting ready to blow up the China trade deal and wanted the Fed Chair to be ready to react, or he wanted to gauge how Powell would react if he decides to go down that route.

Is that so outlandish? The residence is a bit of a tell in that case. Everything that happens in the West Wing leaks and Trump may have wanted to keep the talk as quiet as possible, perhaps at Mnuchin's request.

Javers