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Powell Takes Stand As Fed Cuts Rates Again

Powell Takes Stand As Fed Cuts Rates Again

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
November 08, 2024

Good Friday morning. A major achievement for the nation: Applebee’s and IHOP will soon have a joint location in Texas. Have a great weekend!

In Today’s Brief

Virginia: Airport arrest
Putin: Trump talk
Wiles: Chief of Staff pick
Nissan: Layoffs announced
Star Wars: New movies

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Cut and (no) run

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called his shot after the central bank cut interest rates for the second time this year.

New guidance: The Fed made a quarter-point rate cut to close out its monthly meeting. It had made a half-point cut in September. The move was widely expected after inflation just missed hitting the central bank's 2% target on the last report. Wall Street expects another quarter-point cut next month.
Staying put: Powell, whose term runs through 2026, told reporters he will not step down if President-elect Donald Trump asks for his resignation; he also said Trump would not have the legal power to fire him.
Key context: Trump appointed Powell during his first term, but has frequently criticized him and the central bank since, including once suggesting Powell was a bigger enemy to the nation than Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Big picture: Trump caused waves this summer when he signaled he wanted to impede the Fed's independence and have a say in policy decisions if re-elected. But he quickly backtracked and reportedly plans to leave Powell be.

2) Keystone cop

Democrats cried foul as Republicans appeared to flip yet another Senate seat.

The news: Former hedge fund executive David McCormick was declared Pennsylvania's new senator-elect by The Associated Press, giving the GOP its 53rd seat in the upper chamber. But incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey refused to concede as local, state and national party members criticized the AP call and insisted he could still win via the remaining uncounted ballots.
Last two: The Senate races in Arizona and Nevada remain too close to call, but Democrats Rep. Ruben Gallego and Sen. Jacky Rosen currently lead in those races.
In the House: The GOP remains a slight favorite to maintain its narrow majority, but Democrats have made up some ground. Republicans had a 211-197 spread in their favor as of last night and have picked up a net gain of two seats with 27 races still uncalled. The math is still in the GOP's favor -- it needs to win eight of those races while Democrats need 22.
Presidential bookkeeping: President-elect Donald Trump is expected to win Arizona and Nevada to close with a 312-226 Electoral College triumph over Vice President Kamala Harris. He also had a roughly 4.3M advantage in the popular voteas of last night.

3) Human error

A few dozen monkeys were running amok in South Carolina.

The news: At least 43 Rhesus Macaque monkeys escaped en masse from the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee yesterday when a new employee left their enclosure door open. The small town is located in the state's Lowcountry, sitting roughly an hour north of Savannah, Georgia.
More details: The primates are all females weighing roughly 6-7 pounds. Officials said they are too young to carry any diseases and have not been used in clinical trials. Area residents were told to avoid the area of the escape, keep doors and windows securely shut, avoid contact with or noise that will scare the animals and to call 911 if they see one.
Big picture: None of the monkeys had been secured as of 6 p.m. ET last night, but officials said they have eyes on them and are trying to entice them with food. About 20 monkeys escaped from the same facility in 2019 and were recaptured a few hours later.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

A murder suspect was arrested at Virginia’s Dulles International Airport moments before fleeing the country. Christofer Antonio Argueta Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, was attempting to board a flight to El Salvador with a one-way ticket; he is connected to a homicide in the state (More)
The FBI is investigating a wave of racist text messages sent to people in at least four states. Children and college students were among the recipients; the messages made references to slavery and cotton plantations (More)
An Oregon bicyclist alleges he was hit by an ambulance and then billed $1.8K to be driven to the hospital. The 71-year-old man has filed a $1M lawsuit against the fire and rescue company that operated the ambulance (More)

World News

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated President-elect Trump and said gives credibility to his comments about ending the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had a "productive" conversation with Trump (More | More)
Nigeria's major cities suffered blackouts yesterday. It was the 10th time the African nation's power grid has failed this year and the second time this week as it struggles with weak infrastructure and sabotage by armed insurgents (More)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned and released 31 political prisoners. The strongman has freed over 100 political prisoners this year despite a crackdown on domestic opposition ahead of January's presidential election; the Putin ally held power by force in 2020 after allegations he rigged that vote (More)

Political News

Susie Wiles will be the White House Chief of Staff. She will be the first woman to hold the role, which does not require Senate confirmation; the veteran political operative led President-elect Trump's 2024 campaign (More)
President Joe Biden made his first public comments since Election Day. He urged Americans to "accept the choice the country made" in a brief address from the Rose Garden at the White House, pledging a peaceful transfer of power (More)
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison ripped Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, calling his recent criticism of the party "straight up BS." Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said the party abandoned working-class voters and Vice President Harris ran a "disastrous" campaign (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 posted new all-time highs to extend their post-election rallies (Dow -0.00%, Nasdaq +1.51%, S&P 500 +0.74%).
Nissan will lay off 9K workers, about 6% of its global workforce. The Japanese automaker will also cut production capacity by 20%; the moves are in response to lagging vehicle sales (More)
Steve Madden plans to shift product sourcing out of China in anticipation of increased import tariffs planned by President-elect Trump. The shoe retailer is aiming to reduce Chinese production by 40%, which is 4X its previous plan (More)

Entertainment & Sports

A new Star Wars film trilogy is in the works. Disney and Lucasfilm have disputed reports suggesting the movies will continue the storylines connected to the existing trilogies, but no plot details are confirmed yet (More)
Police in Argentina made arrests connected to former One Direction member Liam Payne's death. The British artist fell to his death at a Buenos Aires hotel last month; his friend, an alleged drug dealer and a hotel employee face charges (More)
Billy Napier will return as Florida's head football coach next season, ending weeks of speculation. He is 4-4 this season and 15-18 at the SEC school; the $26M buyout to fire him would have been the second-largest in college football history (More)

Quick Hitters

Feel Good: A colorblind man put on special glasses designed for people with the issue, then turned on The Wizard of Oz. That first-ever experience had him overcome with emotion.
Real Heroes: Two brothers saw heavy smoke in the distance while driving to visit a friend in California. They started heading toward it and helped people fight fires threatening their homes.
Go Deep: People often say spices like tumeric can boost your immune system and provide health benefits. While they are not magic, there may be something to those claims.
Fun Stuff: You are never too old to learn something new and enjoy yourself. This 85-year-old TikTok star is proof.
Life Hack: The secret to lowering blood pressure may be simple and quick. A new study found five more minutes of daily exercise may do the trick.

Watch This

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