Trading tantrum? Fed officials' personal dealings stir controversy

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan (pic) and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren made frequent or substantial trades in 2020, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported earlier this week. The trades occurred during a year in which the central bank took major actions to shore up the economy and swooning financial markets after they were broadsided by the coronavirus pandemic.

Media reports this week that two of the Federal Reserve's 12 regional bank presidents were active traders has some of the central bank's most vocal critics questioning the rules that allowed them to engage in the transactions in the first place.

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren made frequent or substantial trades in 2020, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported earlier this week. The trades occurred during a year in which the central bank took major actions to shore up the economy and swooning financial markets after they were broadsided by the coronavirus pandemic.