Fed, BlackRock's Rick Rieder emerges as candidate to succeed Powell
Rieder's shares on the forecasting site Polymarket jumped from 6% at the beginning of the week to 47% on Friday afternoon
The news a few days ago was that US President Donald Trump had put the brakes on Kevin Hassett, his chief economic adviser, as one of the leading candidates for next Federal Reserve chairman to replace Jerome Powell. The race reopened. Now a strong new candidate is emerging, according to the forecasting site Polymarket relaunched by the Financial Times. The rising candidate would be Rick Rieder, manager of BlackRock.
Rieder's shares on the site jumped from 6% at the start of the week to 47% on Friday afternoon, based on bets that the US president will back a candidate with close Wall Street ties to replace Powell when his term ends in May. This sudden jump puts Rieder in first place on Polymarket.
Trump, who has repeatedly clashed with Powell, said this week that he would announce his choice "in the not too distant future". The rise of Rieder's odds on the betting markets marks the latest twist in a months-long saga over who the US president will choose as Fed chairman.
Treasury Department officials recently polled major investors about Rieder and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, considered another strong contender for the post.
The Treasury maintains regular contact with market participants, butquestions about Rieder have become more pointed recently, sources added. The Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
