Federal Reserve Chairman Powell says there is no Trump pressure to lower interest rates
President Donald Trump has pressured the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, and Jerome Powell is still saying no.
US stock futures are flat after the weekly list rest start as investors were on the sidelines ahead of quarterly results and global financial leader meetings later this week.
Discount Giants’ Walmart and Target and home improvement company Lowe are expected to report mid-week. Home Depot is paid before the market opens. These revenues can provide a window into how tariffs are affecting businesses and consumer spending.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will give a speech over the weekend at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium for Global Central Bankers and Finance Directors. Investors are looking for tips waiting for Powell to see the impact of tariffs before cutting fees again.
The CME FedWatch tool, which shows the possibility that the Fed may change rates at each policy meeting based on market transactions, suggests a nearly 84% chance of the Fed easing rate in September.
Before Powell’s speech, investors can get a glimpse at the last Fed meeting mid-week. Federal governments Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman voted against the central bank’s decision to maintain fees between 4.25% and 4.50% last month. It was the first time since 1993 that two governors had opposed it.
At 6:10am ET, futures linked to the Blue Chip Dow added 0.03%, while the Broad S&P 500 futures slipped -0.06%, while the high-tech Nasdaq futures fell -0.05%.
Corporate News
- Palo Alto Networks has surpassed estimates in the last three months of the fiscal year. The guidance for the first three months of the fiscal year and the full year also surpassed expectations. Founder Nir Zuk is also retired as Chief Technology Officer.
- Intel has received a $2 billion investment from SoftBank. Japanese investment companies buy roughly 87 million shares, or about 2% of Intel’s outstanding shares, for $23.
- Tegna is in the midst of a bidding war after Sinclair offers to fuse the broadcast TV business in a deal that values Tegna’s stock at around $25 to $30 each, Wall Street Journal cites the source. Tegna has already given advanced talks to sell to the Nexstar Media Group.
Medora Lee is a money, market and personal finance reporter for USA Today. You can contact her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free daily money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday to Friday morning.
