The resilience of gold above $4,800 per ounce at this stage reflects a delicate and complex balance between traditional supporting factors and emerging pressures-one that cannot be superficially interpreted or reduced to the movement of the dollar alone. It is true that the U.S. dollar's retreat from its recent peaks, after failing to sustain its recovery momentum from a four-year low, provided gold with a short-term breather and attracted some buyers.
The newly-named Federal Reserve chairman faces an historic challenge that no predecessor has encountered since the years immediately following World War II. In that period, the gigantic spending required to aid our allies and secure military victory saddled the U.S. with towering debt. President Truman-fearing that huge interest costs would swamp the budget-heavily pressured the Fed to hold down rates. Today, the U.S. is wrestling with its biggest budget crisis in 70 years, and we're confronting a similar conundrum.
Dutta tells Axios: "I don't think people should change their investment plans around Warsh. The Fed is bigger than any one person. At the margin, Warsh represents a bit of uncertainty." One concern is that Warsh will cut interest rates now to appease Trump even if lower rates aren't warranted, which could result in the need for increases later on.
"It's easy to criticize government institutions in so many ways," he said. "I will tell whoever it is: You're about to meet the most qualified group of people you not only have ever worked with-you will ever work with-when you meet Fed staff. And not everybody's perfect, but there isn't a better cadre of professionals who are more dedicated to the public well-being than work at the Fed."
Warsh previously served as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011 and is currently a partner at Duquesne Family Office alongside Stanley Druckenmiller. He is also a visiting fellow in economics at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Warsh still could face a tough Senate confirmation after the Justice Department issued grand jury subpoenas as part of a probe into Powell, sparking bipartisan criticism.
The modal Kalshi forecast, or the outcome deemed most likely by traders, has had a perfect track record from 2022 through June. "We find the Kalshi median and mode have a perfect forecast record on the day before the FOMC meeting which represents a statistically significant improvement over the fed funds futures forecast," the study's authors Anthony M. Diercks, Jared Dean Katz, and Jonathan H. Wright wrote.
Americans collectively owe $1.233 trillion in credit card debt, with nearly half of all cardholders carrying balances month to month at an average APR of 22.83%. Despite recent Federal Reserve rate cuts, borrowers face a persistent financial squeeze because credit card issuers maintain their markup regardless of policy changes, meaning lower Fed rates don't translate to meaningful relief for consumers paying double-digit interest on revolving debt.
The court says Trump is entitled to this power under the "Unitary Executive Theory," a fringe theory that was made up by Republican academics to justify dismantling the regulatory state and that has been adopted by Supreme Court Republicans over the past few years. The theory reimagines every independent agency created by Congress as part of Trump's personal fiefdom. Based on this view, the Supreme Court has allowed Trump to fire members of the National Labor Relations Board (see Trump v. Wilcox);