us-business

President Donald Trump’s attempted removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook opens a new front in his months-long campaign to bring the central bank to heel on lowering interest rates. Now he’s pursuing an overhaul to the Fed committee that casts periodic votes to decide borrowing costs. Suggested Reading For now, Cook’s attorney said they will sue the Trump administration and challenge her removal. The ensuing legal battle might stretch for weeks. In a new statement through a spokesperson the Fed said they will comply with any court order on Cook’s status, and still carry on its responsibilities ensuring stable prices and full employment. Related Content At the moment, Trump has two appointees on the Fed’s seven-member Board of Governors within the FOMC sympathetic to his view that interest rates should be lower. Earlier this month, Trump named Stephen Miran, a White House economic advisor, to replace Adriana Kugler after she unexpectedly stepped down from the Board of Governors five months ahead of her term’s end date. The Senate must still confirm Miran before he can take the post. Another opening in the Board of Governors would give Trump another chance to install a loyalist or at least someone who’s more persuadable on lower interest rates. Four members on the panel delivers a majority to the president to be able to block reappointments to the FOMC early next year, producing a Trump-friendly Fed. “Beware an assault on independence of Fed through not reappointing Fed Bank Presidents,” Gene Sperling, an economist and ex-White House aide to President Joe Biden, wrote on X. All 12 Federal Reserve Bank District presidents are up for renewal in Feb. 2026, with five of them holding a vote on changing interest rates. Jim Bianco, a financial analyst and president of Bianco Research, argued it could allow Trump an opening to expand his attacks to other Fed Bank presidents who are deemed hesitant or unwilling to support lower interest rates. “It’s a scenario that they could start firing bank presidents, arguably, because they’re too hawkish,” Bianco said. “Bank presidents are at-will employees to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. You can fire somebody who’s an at-will employee for any reason or no reason.” That would bring the Fed under Trump’s sway. Trump has repeatedly assailed Powell over the Fed’s pause on interest rate cuts, arguing it’s akin to sabotaging the U.S. economy. He weighed firing the Fed chair in June, but he later backed off since it could unleash economic turmoil. “Especially in this moment, we have been in a really difficult inflationary environment for the past few years,” said Sameera Fazili, a former staffer to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. “This is the exact kind of moment where independence is the most needed.” Fazili said Trump was eroding the Fed’s separation from the executive branch with great risk to the economy. “That stable and predictable rule of law has been essential to the smooth functioning of our economy,” she said. The Fed has made its decisions solely based on what’s best for the economy and without consideration for the person sitting in the Oval Office. Still, Trump administration officials described the Fed’s relationship to the U.S. government as one that can be revised. “Having the public trust is the only thing that gives it credibility,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the White House on Monday afternoon, adding “the old ways of doing things are not good enough.” In recent months, the S&P Global and Moody’s Analytics ratings agencies warned of downgrading the U.S. AA+ credit rating if the Fed’s usual independence was seriously jeopardized. Such a step would add to borrowing costs for the government and make it more expensive to finance U.S. debt. 📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief Read More

Americans’ economic outlook cooled slightly this month as they continue to worry about the labor market, tariffs, and inflation.  Suggested Reading Overall consumer confidence fell by 1.3 points in August, according to a monthly survey conducted by The Conference Board, a nonprofit think tank that records consumer attitudes, buying intentions, vacation plans, and consumer expectations for inflation, stock prices, and interest rates. Consumers’ assessments of current business conditions improved slightly in August, with 22% saying business conditions were “good,” up from 20.5% in July. Related Content “Consumer confidence dipped slightly in August but remained at a level similar to those of the past three months,” senior economist Stephanie Guichard said in a press release.  The share of consumers expecting a recession over the next 12 months rose in August to the highest level since the April peak, the report said. However, expectations remained below the threshold that typically signals that there’s a recession ahead. Many Americans are already seeing higher prices at the grocery store. Through June, about 22% of tariff costs have been passed onto American consumers, according to Goldman Sachs’ recent analysis. However, that number will rise to 67% if tariffs follow the same course as years prior, the firm said. “Consumers’ write-in responses showed that references to tariffs increased somewhat and continued to be associated with concerns about higher prices,” Guichard said. “Meanwhile, references to high prices and inflation, including food and groceries, rose again in August.” Consumer views of the labor market cooled further in August, with 29.7% of respondents saying jobs were “plentiful,” down slightly from 29.9% in July. Twenty percent said jobs were “hard to get,” up from 18.9%. Consumer outlook for income prospects was also less positive in August, with 18.3% of respondents expecting their incomes to increase and 12.6% expecting their income to decrease. In July, the U.S. unemployment rate reached 4.2%, the highest level since October 2021. Payrolls grew by 73,000 jobs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. 📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief Read More

When the AI economy owns the bull market, all eyes turn to one company — and one earnings call. That’s Nvidia on Wednesday after the bell. The question isn’t if the company will post another outsized quarter. The Street is already braced for that. The question is whether or not management’s guidance can still stretch confidence across an anxious tape — one where policy shifts have muddied China, supply questions shadow Nvidia’s Blackwell rollout, and a $4 trillion valuation leaves no room for a wobble. After months of volatility tugging at mega-cap valuations, Nvidia’s quarterly earnings release will be a gut check on whether AI-driven demand, geopolitical complexity, and silicon supply still justify tech’s lofty multiples. Lose confidence here? Markets may recalibrate. Hold fast? The narrative stays intact. The reaction is understandable. Nvidia has become the bellwether of an era when capital flows toward AI with a fervor that recalls both the internet build-out and the shale boom. Last quarter, the company pulled in more than $44 billion in revenue, most of it coming from data centers that are crammed with Nvidia’s chips. That performance helped keep the broader tech rally intact even as questions about valuation and macro risk started to pile up.  This week, traders are bracing as though a policy announcement is coming. Consensus is clustered around a blockbuster print: about $46.4 billion in revenue and roughly $1.02 EPS for the quarter, a pace that still implies more than 50% growth from a year ago. Those are extraordinary figures for a company of Nvidia’s size, and they feed the expectation — now a routine — that CEO Jensen Huang will clear a bar most large-caps could never approach. But routine doesn’t mean riskless. Markets are unusually sensitive to tone this week after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman flagged an AI “bubble.” Nvidia could be the swing factor for tech — see: the stock’s 30% year-to-date rise and influence on AI-linked names — and the company’s China outlook and a new revenue-sharing deal with the U.S. government could be the hinge that pushes post-earnings volatility in either direction.  “Whenever the market has concerns about tech valuations or an AI bubble, NVIDIA usually comes to the rescue and reminds us why there’s so much potential and optimism in this space,” Will Rhind, the founder and CEO of GraniteShares, said. “I suspect that’s what we’ll see again this week.” At least nine brokers have hiked their price targets recently — Bloomberg pegs the average near $194, with KeyBanc at $215 and TD Cowen at $235 — because Nvidia has consistently outpaced expectations. But this time, investors will likely be less interested in the headline numbers than in the shape of the forecast. They need confirmation that demand remains broad and durable enough to justify the premium. They want a clear accounting of how China fits into guidance now that licensing rules have changed — again. And they expect execution detail on Blackwell shipments at the system level, not just chip counts. If the numbers are strong but the answers are hedged, a “beat” can still read like a warning. On Wednesday, Nvidia needs to deliver a confident outlook that bridges near-term supply snarls and geopolitical risk. Anything less could unsettle the notion that AI demand alone is enough to levitate valuations. The guidance gauntlet Nvidia has turned earnings season into a ritual of raised eyebrows and raised estimates. The pattern has held for more than a year: soaring revenue, expanding data-center share, margins that make even bullish models look timid. Another beat looks more likely than not — but the burden is what comes after the headline. The macro frame is accommodating but taut. Tech leadership has been fragile; when the group wobbles, the stock that matters most can steer the tape. That’s why an in-line guide won’t cut it. Investors want language that keeps the growth engine running without creating questions on mix or cost.  Margins are part of the test. Last quarter’s one-time China charges aside, management has anchored investors around low-70s non-GAAP gross margins, and maintaining that cushion matters because the product mix is shifting. That doesn’t have to be a headwind; system-level deployments can sustain pricing power. Blackwell, the new GPU architecture, is moving from launch hype into mass production. Networking gear and full-rack systems are starting to account for a larger slice of revenue. Each of these dynamics can swing profitability by a few points. Analysts would welcome a margin profile that looks predictable. Any hint of turbulence will invite questions about how much the company can absorb in costs while maintaining its high-flying valuation.  A steady margin profile, paired with a confident demand bridge into the back half, is the cleanest way to keep multiple pressures at bay. Analysts will also want to see whether Nvidia can continue to meet the market’s insatiable appetite for proof that AI is still scaling. Hyperscaler spending is the main prop: Morgan Stanley estimates that U.S. giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google will spend more than $325 billion on capital expenditures in 2025, with AI infrastructure soaking up a growing share. The math is tantalizing for Nvidia — if even a fraction of that outlay is captured in GPU orders, revenue growth can continue at a clip few mega-caps can match. But there are complications. Those billions are controlled by a handful of customers whose project schedules are sensitive to permitting, power access, and quarterly budgeting. The risk is not that demand disappears, it’s that orders slip from one quarter to the next. For a company as heavily modeled as Nvidia, even small shifts can move billions in valuation. China’s toll road If demand is Nvidia’s engine, China is the wild card that investors are trying to model around. The facts have moved quickly and, at times, in opposite directions. In April, the U.S. imposed licensing requirements on Nvidia’s China-focused H20 chips, forcing the company to absorb a $4.5 billion charge tied to excess inventory and purchase

Ethereum’s outperformance over Bitcoin is being reinforced by institutional flows, new altcoin narratives, and rising market odds of a $5K test, with macro data now set to challenge that conviction. Aug 27, 2025, 1:12 a.m. Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets: Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas. ETH’s chances of hitting $5,000 this month climbed to 26% on Polymarket, up from 16% just a few days ago, as traders priced in momentum from institutional accumulation and shifting BTC-ETH flows. (Polymarket) “Ethereum’s recent strength is mainly showcased by the level of flows into it, where a major liquidity floor has been built by institutions,” said March Zheng, General Partner at Bizantine Capital in a note to CoinDesk. He added that the ETH/BTC ratio had been sitting at a localized low, making a rebound overdue, and that this cycle is supported by stronger fundamentals such as global stablecoin adoption and clearer regulation. Market rotation added further color to the rally, Enflux, a market maker, wrote to CoinDesk in a note. XRP joined ETH in leading the majors, while capital chased new narratives, such as CRO, following Trump Media’s “Cronos Treasury” initiative. Hyperliquid’s surge in trading volume, surpassing Robinhood in July, highlighted how retail speculation is tilting toward native infrastructure, with its $HYPE token gaining double digits. These undercurrents suggest that what matters most is not the day’s closing print but the structural reallocation of liquidity across the crypto landscape, Enflux noted. Liquidity is being redistributed across the crypto landscape, market observers say, but ETH’s role at the center is reinforced by institutional conviction. “Markets react to headlines, but longer-term value is driven by fundamentals,” Gracie Lin, CEO of OKX Singapore, told CoinDesk in a note. “This is why Ethereum continues to show strength through real utility — even as prices pull back, big institutional moves like BitMine’s ETH accumulation prove there’s deep conviction in its role at the core of crypto,” Lin continued. “With new macro data like the US PCE coming in later this week, we’re about to see how that conviction holds up amidst volatility.” ETH has outpaced BTC by a wide margin, gaining 20% over the past 30 days compared to bitcoin’s 6% decline, market data shows, and trading volumes show ETH commanding more liquidity than BTC despite its smaller market cap. Market Movements BTC: Bitcoin is trading at $111,733.63, but weak on-chain activity and $940M in liquidations signal fading momentum. ETH: Ether is trading at $4,598.67, below its recent all-time high of $4,946, as institutional inflows power the rally while DeFi activity and TVL remain weaker than in past cycles. Gold: Gold is trading at $3,410.80, holding above $3,400 as Powell’s rate-cut hints, Trump’s Fed shake-up, and record central bank buying fuel safe-haven demand with traders eyeing a run toward $3,500. Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Wednesday despite Wall Street’s overnight gains, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.17%. S&P 500: The S&P 500 rose 0.41% to 6,465.94 on Tuesday as investors looked past Trump’s removal of Fed Governor Lisa Cook and awaited Nvidia’s earnings. Elsewhere in Crypto: Trump-backed World Liberty Token Could Decimate Retail Investors, Compass Point Warns (Decrypt) U.S. CFTC, a Top Crypto Watchdog, Is About to Shrink Commission to Only One Member (CoinDesk) Bitcoin Miner Hut 8 Surges 10% on 1.5GW Expansion Plans (CoinDesk) Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy. Sam Reynolds Sam Reynolds is a senior reporter based in Asia. Sam was part of the CoinDesk team that won the 2023 Gerald Loeb award in the breaking news category for coverage of FTX’s collapse. Prior to CoinDesk, he was a reporter with Blockworks and a semiconductor analyst with IDC. X icon AI Boost “AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk’s AI Policy. More For You XRP Eyes $3.20 as Bull-Flag Pattern Forms, Key Support at $2.89 Token tests $3.08 resistance on heavy flows before consolidating near the $3.00 psychological mark. What to know: CME Group’s crypto futures suite surpassed $30 billion in notional open interest, with XRP futures reaching $1 billion in just over three months. XRP’s price increased by 3.60% from $2.89 to $2.99, with a significant volume spike at $3.08 before retreating. Traders are monitoring whether XRP can maintain support at $2.99–$3.00 and the potential for a breakout above $3.08. Read full story Read More

Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Read More

Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Read More

Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Read More

Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Read More

Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Read More

Gold price gains ground in Tuesday’s early European session. Concerns over Fed’s independence and potential US Fed rate cut support the Gold price.  The US CB Consumer Confidence and Durable Goods Orders reports will be the highlights later on Tuesday.  The Gold price (XAU/USD) rises to a two-week high near $3,385 during the early European trading hours on Tuesday. The precious metal edges higher amid concerns about the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) independence after the report that US President Donald Trump says he is removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Additionally, signs that the US central bank will resume cutting interest rates provide some support to the yellow metal, as lower interest rates could reduce the opportunity cost of holding Gold.  Looking ahead, the US Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence, Durable Goods Orders and the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index reports are due later on Tuesday. Later this week, the key US economic data will be released, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index data for July. If the report shows stronger-than-expected growth or any signs of hotter inflation, this might boost the Greenback and weigh on the USD-denominated commodity price.  Daily Digest Market Movers: Gold price edges higher on Fed’s independence and US rate cut hopes “Gold prices reached their highest level in two weeks amid heightened political uncertainty after President Donald Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell last Friday signalled a possible rate cut in September, highlighting growing risks to the labour market but also noting inflation remained a threat and that no decision has been finalised,” said Jigar Trivedi, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities. “I have determined that there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position,” Trump said in a letter to Cook posted on his Truth Social platform, claiming there was enough evidence that Cook had made false statements on mortgage applications. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated at the Jackson Hole symposium that the US central bank could consider a rate cut at its next policy meeting in September.  Powell added that the US economy is facing a “challenging situation,” with inflation risks now tilted to the upside and employment risks to the downside. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan on Monday said she feels the Fed has more room to reduce its reserves, and she expects banks to turn to its standing repo facility next month to alleviate any liquidity pressures. Markets are now pricing in nearly an 84.3% possibility for a cut of at least a quarter-point at the Fed’s policy meeting next month, down slightly from the 84.7% in the previous session, according to CME’s FedWatch tool, but well above the 61.9% expectation a month ago. Gold keeps the bullish vibe in the longer term The Gold price trades in positive territory on the day. According to the daily chart, the positive outlook of the precious metal remains intact as the price holds above the key 100-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). The upward momentum is supported by the 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI), which stands above the midline near 55.0. This displays bullish momentum in the near term. On the bright side, the key upside barrier for Gold emerges in the $3,400-3,410 zone, representing the psychological level, the upper boundary of the Bollinger Band, and the high of August 8. Extended gains could pave the way to $3,439, the high of July 23. The next resistance level is seen at $3,500, the round figure, and the high of April 22.  In the bearish event, the initial support level for the yellow metal is located at $3,325, the low of August 21. A breach of this level could see a drop to $3,285, the lower limit of the Bollinger Band. The crucial contention level to watch is $3,270, the 100-day EMA. Risk sentiment FAQs In the world of financial jargon the two widely used terms “risk-on” and “risk off” refer to the level of risk that investors are willing to stomach during the period referenced. In a “risk-on” market, investors are optimistic about the future and more willing to buy risky assets. In a “risk-off” market investors start to ‘play it safe’ because they are worried about the future, and therefore buy less risky assets that are more certain of bringing a return, even if it is relatively modest. Typically, during periods of “risk-on”, stock markets will rise, most commodities – except Gold – will also gain in value, since they benefit from a positive growth outlook. The currencies of nations that are heavy commodity exporters strengthen because of increased demand, and Cryptocurrencies rise. In a “risk-off” market, Bonds go up – especially major government Bonds – Gold shines, and safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc and US Dollar all benefit. The Australian Dollar (AUD), the Canadian Dollar (CAD), the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) and minor FX like the Ruble (RUB) and the South African Rand (ZAR), all tend to rise in markets that are “risk-on”. This is because the economies of these currencies are heavily reliant on commodity exports for growth, and commodities tend to rise in price during risk-on periods. This is because investors foresee greater demand for raw materials in the future due to heightened economic activity. The major currencies that tend to rise during periods of “risk-off” are the US Dollar (USD), the Japanese Yen (JPY) and the Swiss Franc (CHF). The US Dollar, because it is the world’s reserve currency, and because in times of crisis investors buy US government debt, which is seen as safe because the largest economy in the world is unlikely to default. The Yen, from increased demand for Japanese government bonds, because a high proportion are held by domestic investors who are unlikely to dump them – even in a crisis. The Swiss Franc, because strict Swiss banking laws offer investors enhanced capital protection. Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are