President Trump reiterated his criticism of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said he was close to picking a new Fed chair, and teased new tariffs on semiconductors. Joining me now, Muhammad Alerian, president of Queens College of Cambridge to talk about that and many other things. Muhammad, good to see you.Good morning, Julie. I would like to start with this whole situation over the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the BLS. Um, with President Trump's removal of the person who heads up that agency, what does that ...

President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are expected to hold talks in the coming days focused on tariffs. That's according to a Canadian trade official and it follows the president hitting Canadian goods with a 35% tariff. Joining us right now is Colin Robertson, a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.He's also a former Canadian dipl diplomat. And Colin, how do you think we got to this position. Well, we got to this position because Donald Trump wants to impose major tariffs on Ca ...

Labor Market & Economic Growth - Labor market and economic growth reports indicate limited booming activity, except in AI and equities sectors [1]

Economic Impact - Bloomberg Economics predicts President Trump's levies will likely weigh on economic growth [1] - The levies are expected to push up prices [1] - The levies are expected to negatively impact the global economy [1]

First of all, there are a lot of forces forces at work in the economy and you know tariffs are one of them. You know the remilitarization of the world, the e the de fiscal deficits, you know the the uh demographics uh all those things are going to drive various things and yeah they may drive slightly higher inflation. What you really want is more growth.You know that is far more important than whether inflation ticks up or down a little bit. So and then tariffs themselves you know they've been greatly moder ...

US economic growth averaged 1.25% in the first half, a full percentage point below the pace for 2024: Here’s your Evening Briefing https://t.co/U7IDkA3T6f ...

The Fed should have cut interest rates so the US economy could grow faster. ...

Market Performance & Trends - The S&P 500, NASDAQ Composite, and NASDAQ 100 reached fresh records, while the Dow barely closed in the red and small caps fell by approximately 025% [2][3] - The 10-year Treasury note yield decreased by 6 basis points to 437%, and the 30-year yield also decreased by 6 basis points, remaining below 5% [4] - The US dollar index decreased by approximately 067%, a significant amount for a major currency [4] - Communication services showed the strongest performance, increasing by 137%, while energy declined by more than 1% [4] - Investors are becoming more comfortable with the resilience of the US economy, supported by strong retail sales and low jobless claims [7][8] - The market reaction to tariff headlines has diminished, with the S&P 500 and tariff-related stocks showing minimal movement in response to recent tariff news [32] Company Specific News - Trump Media Technology Group revealed approximately $2 billion in Bitcoin holdings, representing about two-thirds of their balance sheet [12][13] - Taiwan Semiconductor's largest client is Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor lifted their full-year guidance by 30% [20][21] - NATO countries have committed to spend up to 5% of their GDP on defense spending over the next decade, and the European Union plans to spend $840 billion over the next four years on defense [22] - Nisource, a multi-utility company and one of the largest distributors of natural gas, has a dividend yield of nearly 3% and is considered a backdoor play into the AI revolution [26][27] - Coca-Cola is expected to report less growth in Q2 due to a slowdown in price increases, and General Motors is expected to report earnings in line with analyst estimates [63][64] Economic Outlook & Federal Reserve - The US economy is showing signs of regaining its strength, with consumer confidence and spending rebounding, and major financial institutions no longer anticipating a recession [43] - The Federal Reserve's summary of economic projections in June indicated a potential slowdown to 14% by the end of the year, with unemployment rising to 45% and core PCE inflation rising to 31% [47] - The market is currently pricing in approximately two rate cuts by the Federal Reserve for the remainder of the year, potentially in September and October [60]

The new budget law counts on better economic growth to help increase revenue, but its provisions on immigration will make that difficult, @claudia_sahm says (via @opinion) https://t.co/bqrnflcD6Q ...

Monetary Policy & Central Bank Independence - Central bank independence is crucial for achieving stable economic outcomes, especially low and stable inflation [3][4] - Markets would be concerned if central bank independence were threatened [4] - The Fed leadership likely believes tariff effects won't cause prolonged high inflation, especially given the less tight labor market compared to 2022 [8] - The FOMC holds a range of views regarding the appropriateness of lowering interest rates while tariff effects are present [11] Economic Outlook & Data Analysis - Recent data suggests the labor market doesn't require significant rate cuts, and underlying inflation trends are moving towards 2% [5] - Goldman Sachs anticipates three rate cuts later this year, potentially starting in September, due to a relaxed view on inflation [5][6] - Consumer spending appears somewhat softer when adjusted for tariff-driven price increases [14] - Tariffs are expected to slow the pace of economic growth due to their function as taxes and the uncertainty they create [14] - While tariffs may lead to slower consumption and final demand growth, other factors like bank earnings, M&A, and IPO activity suggest increased business and consumer confidence [15] - The economy is not expected to enter recessionary territory [15] - Growth for the year is expected to be in the low 1% range, below the trend pace of around 2% [19]