Lagarde dampens hope for early rate cuts, calls Trump 'a threat'

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said the paring back of key interest rates in the eurozone will only happen if the ECB was convinced inflation would reach its 2% target, dampening hopes among investors for early cuts, as she also waded into the US presidential election. She could not suggest a date, "But if we reach 2%, as we expect for 2025 - and data confirms this in the coming months - I am very confident that interest rates will fall," the president said on Thursday evening on the French television station France 2. Market watchers have recently speculated the ECB could i...