What we’re reading (9/16)
“Fed Meeting Likely To Produce First Rate Cut Of 2025. Will It Keep Going?” (Yahoo! Finance). “The Federal Reserve is widely expected this week to make its first interest rate cut of 2025, but the bigger question for investors is how many more cuts could be on the way as the central bank contends with a weak job market, sticky inflation, and mounting White House pressure…The last dot plot, released in June, revealed a consensus among Fed officials for two cuts this year amid uncertainties about how the Trump administration’s policies on tariffs, immigration, and taxes would impact the economy.”
“What To Watch At The Strangest Fed Meeting In Years” (Wall Street Journal). “The meeting is unfolding during an extraordinary political moment for the central bank, making it one of the strangest in years. It follows not only months of attacks from President Trump over the Fed’s reluctance to lower rates, but also parallel legal dramas that have cast doubt on who will attend the meeting.”
“Here’s How Trump Takes Over The Fed” (New York Times). “Every five years, all of the 12 regional bank presidents are reappointed by the board in Washington. In theory, this allows the board some oversight if, say, a bank president goes rogue. In practice, these reappointments have become formalities. No regional president has ever lost his or her job during the reappointment process, even when a bank president was under investigation by the F.B.I. and the Justice Department after breaking the Fed’s confidentiality rules and failing to disclose it. To call these reappointments pro forma is an understatement.”
“Credit Scores Drop At Fastest Pace Since The Great Recession” (CNN Business). “Credit scores are falling at the fastest pace since the Great Recession as Americans struggle to keep up with the high cost of living and the return of student debt payments. The national average FICO score dropped by two points this year, the most since 2009, according to data released Tuesday by the analytics company. Although credit scores remain significantly higher than during the Great Recession, they are down for the second year in a row. FICO found a growing share of borrowers are falling behind on car loans, credit cards and personal loans.”
“GSK Plans $30 Billion US Investment As Pharma Tariff Threat Looms” (Reuters). “GSK said on Wednesday it plans to invest $30 billion in research and development and supply chain infrastructure in the United States over the next five years, after U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Britain for an unprecedented second state visit to seal investment deals.”
