Business
Fed Governor Lisa Cook sues Trump over his attempt to fire her
Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook has sued President Donald Trump over his attempt to fire her, setting up a potential legal battle with implications for the US central bank’s autonomy.
Cook has asked the court to declare Trump’s firing order “unlawful and void”, and also named Fed Chairman Jerome Powell as defendant.
Trump has said there was “sufficient reason” to believe Cook had made false statements on her mortgage, and cited constitutional powers which he said allowed him to remove her. Cook previously said that “no cause exists under the law” to sack her.
The president has put increasing pressure on the Fed over what he sees as an unwillingness to lower interest rates.
Cook is part of the board responsible for setting interest rates in the US.
Thursday’s lawsuit is likely to bring up a number of legal challenges that could end up at the US Supreme Court.
“This case challenges President Trump’s unprecedented and illegal attempt to remove Governor Cook from her position which, if allowed to occur, would be the first of its kind in the Board’s history,” Abbe Lowell, Cook’s attorney, wrote in the lawsuit.
“It would subvert the Federal Reserve Act … which explicitly requires a showing of ’cause’ for a Governor’s removal, which an unsubstantiated allegation about private mortgage applications submitted by Governor Cook prior to her Senate confirmation is not,” Lowell wrote.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the BBC the president “exercised his lawful authority to remove” Cook.
“The President determined there was cause to remove a governor who was credibly accused of lying in financial documents from a highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions,” he said. “The removal of a governor for cause improves the Federal Reserve Board’s accountability and credibility for both the markets and American people.”
The Federal Reserve Act does not give the president authority to remove a Fed official at will, but as Trump has said, it does allow him to do so “for cause”.
The allegations against Cook were first made in a public letter from housing finance regulator, Bill Pulte, a Trump ally. In the letter he accused Cook of falsifying records to obtain a mortgage.
The letter alleges that she signed two documents, two weeks apart, attesting that two homes in different states were both her primary residence. No charges have been brought against Cook and it is unclear if she is under investigation for these allegations.
Cook’s lawsuit does not address those allegations.
She previously denied that there was any cause to sack her and legal experts have shown scepticism in Trump’s standing.
She is one of seven members of the Fed’s board of governors, and in this position sits on the 12-member committee which is responsible for setting interest rates in the US.
Since returning to Washington, Trump has put increasing pressure on the Fed – especially Powell – over interest rates.
The US president nominates candidates for the role, so removing Cook would mean she could be replaced by someone more favourable to lower interest rates and to the Trump economic agenda.
The Fed’s decision affects the rate at which Americans can borrow money as well as the savings rates on their bank accounts. US interest rates are also closely watched by central banks who set monetary policy in other countries.
Cook voted alongside Powell and most other members of the committee to maintain US interest rates at the Fed’s last rate-setting meeting at the end of July.
India’s budget focuses on infrastructure and defence spending and tax breaks for data-centre investments.
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Business
New Income Tax Act 2025 to come into effect from April 1, key reliefs announced in Budget 2026
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said that the Income Tax Act 2025 will come into effect from April 1, 2026, and the I-T forms have been redesigned such that ordinary citizens can comply without difficulty for ease of living.
The new measures include exemption on insurance interest awards, nil deduction certificates for small taxpayers, and extension of the ITR filing deadline for non-audit cases to August 31.
Individuals with ITR 1 and ITR 2 will continue to file I-T returns till July 31.
“In July 2024, I announced a comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act 1961. This was completed in record time, and the Income Tax Act 2025 will come into effect from April 1, 2026. The forms have been redesigned such that ordinary citizens can comply without difficulty, for) ease of living,” she said while presenting the Budget 2026-27
In a move that directly eases cash-flow pressure on individuals making overseas payments, the Union Budget announced lower tax collection at source across key categories.
“I propose to reduce the TCS rate on the sale of overseas tour programme packages from the current 5 per cent and 20 per cent to 2 per cent without any stipulation of amount. I propose to reduce the TCS rate for pursuing education and for medical purposes from 5 per cent to 2 per cent,” said Sitharaman.
She clarified withholding on services, adding that “supply of manpower services is proposed to be specifically brought within the ambit of payment contractors for the purpose of TDS to avoid ambiguity”.
“Thus, TDS on these services will be at the rate of either 1 per cent or 2 per cent only,” she mentioned during her Budget speech.
The Budget also proposes a tax holiday for foreign cloud companies using data centres in India till 2047.
Business
Budget 2026 Live Updates: TCS On Overseas Tour Packages Slashed To 2%; TDS On Education LRS Eased
Union Budget 2026 Live Updates: Union Budget 2026 Live Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the Union Budget 2026-27 in Parliament, her record ninth budget speech. During her Budget Speech, the FM will detail budgetary allocations and revenue projections for the upcoming financial year 2026-27. Sitharaman is notably dressed in a Kanjeevaram Silk saree, a nod to the traditional weaving sector in poll-bound Tamil Nadu.
The budget comes at a time when there is geopolitical turmoil, economic volatility and trade war. Different sectors are looking to get some support with new measures and relaxations ahead of the budget, especially export-oriented industries, which have borne the brunt of the higher US tariffs being imposed last year by the Trump administration.
On January 29, 2026, Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2025-26, a comprehensive snapshot of the country’s macro-economic situation, in Parliament, setting the stage for the budget and showing the government’s roadmap. The survey projected that India’s economy is expected to grow 6.8%-7.2% in FY27, underscoring resilience even as global economic uncertainty persists.
Budget 2026 Expectations
Expectations across key sectors are taking shape as stakeholders look to the Budget for support that sustains growth, strengthens jobs and eases financial pressures:
Taxpayers & Households: Many taxpayers want practical improvements to the income tax structure that preserve simplicity while supporting long-term financial planning — including broader deductions for home loan interest and diversified retirement savings options.
New Tax Regime vs Old Tax Regime | New Income Tax Rules | Income Tax 2026
Businesses & Industry: With industrial output and investment showing resilience, firms are looking for policies that bolster capital formation, ease compliance, and expand infrastructure spending — especially in manufacturing and technology-driven sectors that promise jobs and exports.
Startups & Innovation: The startup ecosystem expects incentives around employee stock options and capital access, along with regulatory tweaks that encourage risk capital and talent retention without increasing compliance burdens.
Also See: Stock Market Updates Today
The Budget speech will be broadcast live here and on all other news channels. You can also catch all the updates about Budget 2026 on News18.com. News18 will provide detailed live blog updates on the Budget speech, and political, industry, and market reactions.
We are providing a full, detailed coverage of the union budget 2026 here, with a lot of insights, experts’ views and analyses. Stay tuned with us to get latest updates.
Also Read: Budget 2026 Live Streaming
Here are the Live Updates of Union Budget 2026:
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