It is day 194 of the second Trump administration and it was not a good day for the Trump economy. On Wall Street, the Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ all lost more than a full percentage point. The selloff comes after Trump rolled out a list of new tariff rates on countries that haven't reached trade deals with the US.Those new rates take effect one week from today. But the big headline, the real story was the labor market. Economists were set to see a weak July jobs report today, but it was even worse than expected.I ...

She has been a member of the Fed Board of Governors since September 13th, 2023. Let's try to get some more information right now because we have an expert sitting to our right. Michael McKee, talk us through what we know so far.Well, this is a total surprise. Obviously, there was some issue that she had to deal with that made her miss the Fed meeting, which is an extremely unusual thing to do. But we don't have any information on why she is resigning at this point.But basically, effective immediately, she i ...

Market Trends - Municipal bonds are rallying along with US Treasuries [1] - Soft US jobs data spurred bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates as early as next month [1]

Core Viewpoint - The Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF (BATS:VUSB) is designed for investors seeking income with minimal duration risk, averaging around 0.9 years in duration despite its "Ultra-Short" label [1] Fund Characteristics - The ETF holds 1008 bonds with a yield to maturity of 4.7%, compared to a benchmark yield of 4.0% [1] - The average coupon rate for the fund is 4.2%, while the benchmark has a coupon rate of 0.0% [1] - The fund's total net assets as of June 30, 2025, are $5.4 billion [1] - The turnover rate for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, is 61.7% [1] Credit Quality - The credit quality of the bonds is generally good, with over 30% in BBB-rated bonds considered acceptable due to the short duration [5][8] - Only 0.5% of the portfolio consists of single B-rated bonds, indicating a low level of exposure to lower-rated credit risk [8] Liquidity and Expense - The ETF has a trading volume of 715,698 shares, translating to approximately $35 million, which is considered sufficient for tight bid-ask spreads [9] - The expense ratio is competitive at 0.10% [9] Market Context - The ETF's share price experienced volatility from late 2021 to early 2023, primarily driven by fluctuations in interest rates [2][4] - The current economic environment shows strong employment, but the Federal Reserve's focus on managing inflation could lead to potential rate increases [11][12] Investment Strategy - The ETF may not be the best choice for investors in high-tax states due to tax implications, making it more suitable for tax-advantaged accounts [7][15] - The current credit spreads are not appealing, leading to a preference for individual positions or short-term Treasury ETFs for cash management [15]

for the first few months when we saw those big numbers um that was the Biden economy. Now that the Trump policy is taking effect, you're seeing downward revisions of 258,000 over the last uh couple of months, only 73,000 jobs added. And it looks like not just to me, but to uh uh participants in this market that today's weak payroll numbers are a direct result of the conscious policy to limit immigration.And I'm just wondering if that trade-off is delivering the kind of benefits you want to see to us workers ...

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady again this week, and could even keep them in neutral until October. For savers, this is excellent news. https://t.co/5S92a880VD ...

Job Market Overview - The US saw almost half a million new jobs created since the president took office [1] - Job gains were primarily seen in health care and construction sectors [1] - All job gains have been among native-born workers [3] - Strong job growth has occurred at 39% over the last year [9] - 84% of job growth has been in the private sector [12] Policy and Economic Impact - The administration emphasizes the positive impact of trade deals and tariff deals on American businesses [2] - The completion of "one big beautiful bill" is expected to stimulate investments [3] - The administration aims to lower interest rates to encourage business investment [7] - Deregulatory actions are being pursued to modernize, streamline, and cut costs for businesses; 63 deregulatory actions were issued in the first six months [22] Sector-Specific Concerns - There are concerns about downward revisions of 258,000 jobs over the last couple of months and only 73,000 jobs added recently [5] - Manufacturing has shed 11,000 jobs recently and 28,000 jobs over the past six months [15]

Labor Market Analysis - The labor market shows signs that should be watched carefully, with headline numbers coming down [2] - Unemployment remains within the 41% to 43% range for the past year, indicating a healthy labor market that is still well in balance [2] - The labor market is largely in balance, but dynamism is lacking, making it harder to find a job if one doesn't have one [4][5] - Businesses fought hard to assemble and train their labor force and are reluctant to let them go, but this may not last if demand decreases [10] - Potential weakening on the labor side is anticipated, which might warrant a response, balanced against inflation concerns [11][12] Inflation and Tariffs - Inflation is a bigger and longer-lasting problem, with the Fed missing its target for four and a half years [5] - People are feeling the pain of inflation, making difficult choices and finding their $400 emergency fund doesn't stretch as far [6] - The US is missing more on the inflation side than on the employment side [7] - Expectation is that inflation numbers will tick up, with $30 billion a month in tariff revenues being paid by someone [13] - Importers have borne a lot of the tariff costs to date, but they can't absorb those costs anymore and will start pushing that out into prices to consumers [14] - Inflation is expected to continue to tick up into the end of this year [15] Monetary Policy and Economic Outlook - Uncertainty has been high for businesses, making it difficult to make investments and execute plans [9] - The economy is operating right around a neutral long-term rate, and the current stance is modestly restrictive [16] - September is a realistic possibility for a rate move, but one month's data is not determinative [17][18] - It's a tricky time for monetary policymakers, as both sides of the dual mandate (maximum employment and stable prices) could potentially be in conflict [20][21] - Companies have been delaying, postponing, or scaling back investment plans [23] Fed Credibility and Independence - The speaker has enormous respect for Chair Powell, who acts with integrity and aims to do what's best for the American people [26][27] - Independent central banks lead to better economic outcomes [31]

The jobs report proves the Federal Reserve should have already been cutting interest rates.The longer the Fed continues to trust the economic data from the government, the more they will remain behind the curve. ...

BREAKING: 🇺🇸 FED RATE CUTS ARE LIKELY COMING IN SEPTEMBER !!! https://t.co/jCOWcpTfIz ...