Core Viewpoint - Stephen Miran, a new appointee to the Federal Reserve's interest-rate-setting board, advocates for more aggressive interest rate cuts, suggesting rates should be below 3% by year-end [2][6]. Interest Rate Decisions - The Federal Reserve recently cut interest rates by a quarter point, bringing them to a range of 4% to 4.25%, the lowest since early 2023. Miran was the only voting member to oppose this decision, advocating for a half-point cut instead [1]. Economic Analysis - Miran believes that concerns over inflation due to tariffs are overstated, arguing that small price changes in certain goods do not warrant significant worry. He predicts that exporters will lower prices, and he expects a cooling in the housing market due to a declining population influenced by immigration policies [2][4]. - In contrast, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledges that higher tariffs have begun to increase prices in some categories, but the overall impact on economic activity and inflation remains uncertain [3]. Inflation Targeting - The Federal Reserve has maintained a target inflation rate of 2%, which has not been achieved since 2021. Miran views this target as overly restrictive and believes that precise inflation targets can lead to excessive micromanagement [5][6]. Role and Influence - Miran is positioned as an economic advocate for Trump within the Fed, being the first governor to serve on the board while also holding a role in the executive branch in nearly a century. He is currently on leave from his role as chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers [6]. - Miran emphasizes his independence in decision-making, stating that he will not conform to consensus for its own sake and will vote according to his beliefs [8].

By Davide Barbuscia NEW YORK (Reuters) -Top U.S. asset manager Vanguard is bullish on corporate bonds despite high valuations, and while it expects tariffs will continue to be a risk for the U.S. economic and inflation outlook, those headwinds could be offset by further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Investment-grade credit spreads - or the premium over U.S. Treasuries paid by high-rated companies to issue bonds in the U.S. market - declined to 74 basis points last week, their lowest since 1998, a ...

President Donald Trump’s former economic adviser said tariffs are raising the cost of doing business—and it may just be making your job search harder. Gary Cohn, who served as director of the National Economic Council during the first Trump administration, said businesses are feeling the insecurity of rising input costs thanks to tariffs. And because companies feel they can’t raise prices for consumers, they turn to what they can control. “The one lever they can pull to make sure they keep their margins ...

Core Insights - Steven Madden, Ltd. (SHOO) reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 results, indicating ongoing tariff impacts on profitability despite solid consumer demand for the brand [1][10] - Order cancellations and shipment delays, particularly in mass and off-price channels, negatively affected performance, pushing deliveries into later periods and creating pressure on earnings [1][5] Financial Performance - Gross margin remained at 41.9%, an increase of 40 basis points year over year, but tariffs reduced profitability by approximately 230 basis points after supplier discounts [2][10] - Wholesale gross margin decreased to 31% from 33.1%, while direct-to-consumer margin fell to 61.3% from 64.3%, influenced by higher landed costs and the lower-margin Kurt Geiger concessions business [2][10] - Operating income dropped to 4% of revenues compared to over 10% a year ago, leading to adjusted quarterly earnings declining 64.9% from $0.57 to $0.20 per share [2][10] Supply Chain Management - To address supply-chain pressures, the company diversified production to countries like Vietnam and Cambodia while shifting some orders back to China to ensure timely delivery and maintain quality [3][10] - Global trade uncertainty continues to inflate inventory costs and lengthen transit times, making sourcing diversification an ongoing process [3] Pricing Strategy - The company implemented average price increases of about 10% to counter rising costs, with early consumer acceptance being encouraging in categories like boots and dress shoes [4] - Price-sensitive items, such as sandals and sneakers, remain under pressure, and the full impact of pricing strategies is expected to be clearer in the fall season [4] Future Outlook - Management anticipates margin pressure to persist through the fiscal third quarter, with potential easing later in the year if trade conditions stabilize [5] - Until the tariff environment becomes clearer, EBIT margins are unlikely to return to historical double-digit levels, but the company remains confident in brand strength and consumer demand for new assortments [5] Stock Performance and Valuation - Shares of the company have gained 13.6% in the past six months, outperforming the industry's 5.5% growth [8] - From a valuation perspective, Steven Madden is trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 0.87X, significantly lower than the industry average of 1.96X [9]

Most of America’s trading partners have declined to fight tariffs with tariffs of their own. They have judged that tit-for-tat responses would lead to escalation and self-harm https://t.co/mMCEEuNefV ...

U.S. stock futures fell on Monday following Friday’s positive moves. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower.On Sunday, President Donald Trump said media mogul Lachlan Murdoch and tech leaders Oracle Corp.‘s ORCL co-founder Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies Inc.‘s DELL CEO Michael Dell will take part as investors in a proposed deal to transfer TikTok‘s U.S. operations from Chinese parent ByteDance to American ownership. Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Briefing, Trump praised the group and called them “ ...

U.S. stock futures fell on Monday following Friday’s positive moves. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower.On Sunday, President Donald Trump said media mogul Lachlan Murdoch and tech leaders Oracle Corp.‘s ORCL co-founder Larry Ellison and Dell Technologies Inc.‘s DELL CEO Michael Dell will take part as investors in a proposed deal to transfer TikTok‘s U.S. operations from Chinese parent ByteDance to American ownership. Speaking on Fox News’ Sunday Briefing, Trump praised the group and called them “ ...

Euro-zone consumers have reduced spending and shifted away from US goods as President Donald Trump’s tariffs stoke uncertainty about the economic outlook, according to an ECB survey https://t.co/WI66Evi6dL ...

Turkey removed retaliatory tariffs imposed on some US products following a 2018 diplomatic row, before a White House summit https://t.co/jvlgvIjV8Q ...

September 16, 2025 06:23 AM GMT M Morgan Stanley Research: Key Forecasts Next 12-Months Outlook: Our High-Conviction Calls Skewed to the Downside: We expect the Fed to begin cutting this week, while the BoE and BoJ remain on hold. We expect the FOMC to deliver four consecutive 25bp cuts through January, bringing the target range to 3.375% - the upper bound of most Fed estimates of neutral. We anticipate further cuts in April and July 2026 as labor market deterioration continues, to reach an unchanged termin ...