Everything Trump says moves markets
Phil Rosen
Co-founder & Editor-in-Chief of Opening Bell Daily ? Founder of Journalists Club ? 2x Author ? Prev: Fulbright, Business Insider
Good morning and happy Friday! We have a packed edition to close out the week, covering the president’s “demand” for lower rates, the S&P 500’s first record of the year, and the crypto industry’s reaction to Trump’s executive order. First time reading? Join over 190,000 self-directed investors and sign up here.
Today’s letter is brought to you by Public!
More Fed rate cuts are coming. You still have time to lock in a market-leading 7%* bond yield with Public.com.
Investors always react to Trump
It’s no coincidence that President Donald Trump made two of his most market-moving proclamations the same day the stock market secured its first record of the year.??
The S&P 500 gained 0.5% to close at 6,118.71 Thursday, hours after Trump called for lower interest rates in his speech to global elites in Davos and minutes after he signed a highly-anticipated executive order on crypto.?
Let’s start in Davos.
Addressing the World Economic Forum crowd virtually, the president once again challenged the authority and wisdom of the Federal Reserve.?
“I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately,” Trump said. “They should be dropping all over the world. Interest rates should follow us all over.”??
Those comments — which fueled a midday rally in US equities — come the week before the central bank’s two-day policy meeting. Markets see no shot of a rate cut next Wednesday, and traders instead expect the first one of the year to arrive this summer.?
Later in the day speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump voiced further concern over policymakers’ decisions.
领英推荐
“I think I know interest rates much better than they do,” Trump said before alluding to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. “I think I know it certainly much better than the one who’s primarily in charge of making that decision.”
Currently, the Fed’s benchmark interest rate hovers in the 4.25-4.5% range. In their December economic report, central bank officials pulled back their rate-cut forecast from four to two.?
The prediction market Kalshi, meanwhile, assigns 25% odds for two rate cuts in 2025.
Now, in any other era a president demanding a say on monetary policy would headline every show and newsletter.
Yet Trump upstaged himself the same day, as he often does, by introducing a Presidential Working Group on Digital Asset Markets via executive order.
“The Working Group,” according to the executive order, “shall evaluate the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile and propose criteria for establishing such a stockpile, potentially derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement efforts.”
Investor David Sacks, who Trump assigned as the White House crypto and AI “czar,” is set to helm the group.
In the view of the digital asset industry, the move helps Trump keep his word to be the first-ever “crypto president.”?
“Today’s executive order begins to build the framework for crypto in the US,” said Ari Redbord, global head of policy and government affairs for TRM Labs and a former senior advisor at the US Treasury.
“It sets up the processes — a crypto council composed of key regulatory agencies like the SEC, CFTC and Treasury — and the priorities including individual freedom, dollar dominance and the US as a global leader in the age of technology.”?
Bitcoin slipped slightly immediately following the announcement, hovering just above $103,000.?
Feedback or thoughts? Leave a comment!
Journalist I Content Strategist I Professor
1 个月Just subscribed to the Opening Bell.
--Transformational Speaker- Priest- Sports- Tech
1 个月You have to remember the pig is wearing lipstick, this sudden surge in a manipulation system is exciting (But) its a staged play. America is all of sudden interested in pushing crypto to the forefront (really) well we know the dollar isn't worth much today and that other system being used by the now competition has surpassed the used to be, so what else can they do but, try and catch up but wait things have changed and we can't threaten smaller unprotected countries any more with military muscle, so lets push out crypto to replace whats really worthless paper, its no longer backed by military muscle Russia and China are worthy game day opposition in the air and sea, so no advantage now replaced with lots of lip service and America hasn't enough money to support a war unless it is giving its over printed money away for high interest rates return. Eggs are as much as $9 a dozen so the real question is how does Wall Street manipulation fix that? You are always on top of it in your posting continue the good work..
??
Assistant Vice President, Wealth Management Associate
1 个月Very helpful