Powell Rains on Crane — Ron Klein went to work this morningfired the official White House chief of staff twitter account And we’ve done the unthinkable just a month or so ago. lots of happy tweets About the state of the economy.
Mostly, Klein highlighted the latest pretty good news on inflation, an issue that has squashed President Joe Biden’s approval ratings and feared an absolute defeat in the midterm elections, an issue that has mostly engulfed Democrats in crash positions. I wanted to
The newly released figures show that the annual inflation rate, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index (which I have written curiously about in this space before), jumped from 6.8% in June to a pace of 6.3% in July. indicates that it has decreased. This is still very high by historical standards and a pace not seen since the early 1980s.
But what matters at the moment is trends. And now there is a significant amount of data to suggest that inflation may have finally — finally, and with great pain — peaked. Crane’s thoughts didn’t stop there. He also noted positive developments in consumer sentiment, lower gasoline prices, and personal income and spending.
But Klein started it all with an important caveat.There’s a lot left to be done regarding the economy…” he wrote before ticking off a list of positive trends filled with up and down arrow emojis. It certainly wasn’t a coincidence.
While many economic indicators certainly show improvement, prices are actually declined Today’s report shows that most are still fairly volatile, with some getting worse, in June and July.
Consumer and business sentiment remains low. New home sales have been sluggish as the Federal Reserve is pushing up interest rates to combat inflation, and an overall decline in home prices may be ahead in certain markets (this will be discussed in detail later). Consumers are still seeing price increases outpacing wage increases, making everyone poorer and angrier.
Gasoline under $4 per gallon The polls could give Biden and the Democrats a bit of an edge. But pump prices are still higher than when the president took office. The White House, along with other big buyers, would like nothing more than to sign a global price cap on Russian oil.
In an email exchange with NightlyKlein emphasized the caution that preceded his tweet storm (which also included retweets of many positive news stories about inflation reports).
“I regularly stress that there is more to be done and that inflation is not what we want,” Klein wrote. “These are not ‘mission accomplished’ tweets. But I think the fact that the president’s economic policies are moving forward deserves credit. ”
fair enough. A slower pace of inflation would also take some of the pain out of criticism that the president’s student loan forgiveness efforts were unfair and inflationary.
But when things are so groovy… Why did Wall Street crash today? The Dow plummeted over 1,000 points, or 3%. The S&P also dropped 3%, while the technology-dominated Nasdaq plunged nearly 4%. why do you ask That’s why, thanks to Jerome Powell and the aforementioned Fed.
Stock market investors, and many Democrats, deeply fear that the Federal Reserve’s inflation-fighting rate hike campaign will plunge an already fragile economy into recession and boost unemployment. And Wall Street was hoping that in today’s big speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell would lean more into the “dovish” message that the size and pace of rate hikes would soon slow.
yes. he didn’t. Instead, it promised to keep raising interest rates until inflation is well back to the central bank’s target of around 2%. Mr. Powell said interest rates could stay high for a while, causing economic “pain.”
So while Klein and other Democrats can come into the weekend feeling a little better about the economic outlook, that mission has clearly not been accomplished.
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Expand and mix — Federal investigators, according to a legal affidavit unsealed today, filed a search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate earlier this month on a highly-intensive property they had already obtained from there. I got it by pointing to a raft of classified materials.
Records obtained by the FBI from Trump’s Florida home prior to the Aug. 8 raid include human sources, interceptions under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, signal information, and other tags indicating high sensitivity. It was shown that Some of the security-controlled documents included Trump’s “handwritten notes,” according to a partially redacted affidavit detailing the Justice Department’s investigation.
In these boxes, agents found 184 unique documents. 25 are marked as Top Secret, 92 as Classified and 67 as Top Secret, the lowest level of national security classification. According to the affidavit, NARA officials said some of these records were “highly classified records deployed, mixed with other records, and otherwise improperly stored.” I found [sic] identified. ”
Prosecutors also said in another court document released today that the ongoing criminal investigation into government records hidden in Trump’s Florida home would jeopardize his safety if his identity is revealed. It added that a possible “significant number of civilian witnesses” were involved.
Read more about the affidavit from Josh Gerstein When Kyle Cheney, both perused today’s filing. You can also read the complete document, which is redacted and unsealed.
— RNC fires country spokesperson. The Republican National Committee has fired Paris Dennard as its national spokesperson, according to two people familiar with the matter. Dennard served as the Commission’s national spokesperson and director of black media affairs. “Paris Dennard no longer works for the RNC. We do not comment on personnel matters,” RNC chief of staff Mike Reid said in a statement. A person familiar with the shooting said it took place earlier this week. Dennard did not respond to a request for comment.
— Senate GOP Super PAC cancels ad buys in Arizona, Alaska. The Senate Leadership Fund is canceling nearly $8 million in advertising bookings in Arizona and Alaska, calling into question the party’s commitment to Copper state senator candidate Blake Masters. I’ll take on Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), who is already in a good position financially. A super PAC move would exacerbate that Kerry dominance as the Republican Party seeks to win the one seat he needs to regain control of the Senate. Meanwhile, Senator Lisa Markowski (R, Alaska)’s decision to cut her advertising spending for two weeks (about $1.7 million) to boost her is seen as a vote of confidence in her prospects. increase.
— Christo Picks Miami Teachers Union President for Vice President: Democrat Charlie Christo will pick Kara Hernandez Matz, president of Miami-Dade County’s largest teachers’ union, as his running mate as he seeks to remove Governor Ron DeSantis. Christo is expected to formally announce his nomination at Saturday’s rally in Miami, and it will be an uphill battle to formally start the general election campaign. and political agendas, Christo’s choice ensures that education remains at the forefront of the competition.
— Apple faces increased potential for DOJ antitrust lawsuits. Justice Department attorneys are in the early stages of drafting a potential antitrust complaint against Apple, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The agency’s antitrust division hopes to file the suit before the end of the year, the individual said. Still, the ministry has yet to make a decision on whether or when to sue Apple, the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.
— DeSantis’ voter fraud crackdown targeted defendants were told they could vote. Several people arrested last week as part of DeSantis’ crackdown on voter fraud were notified by official government agencies that they were eligible to vote, according to court documents and interviews. In some cases, the arrests were embarrassing because the county sent them voter registration cards and they were authorized to vote, according to affidavits.
I’m worried — Due to fears of radiation leaks, authorities today began distributing iodine tablets to residents near a nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia. : “The move came a day after the power plant was temporarily taken offline after authorities said it was fire damage to power lines. It heightened the fear of a nuclear disaster in a country that is still plagued.
“Artillery shelling has been reported in the area throughout the night, and satellite imagery from Planet Labs has shown fires burning around the complex (Europe’s largest nuclear power plant) over the past few days. I was.
“Iodine tablets to help block the absorption of radioactive iodine by the thyroid in the event of a nuclear accident were issued in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhia, about 45 kilometers (27 miles) away from the plant.”
the iceman is coming — Biden plans to establish a new ambassadorial position focused not only on Russia and China, but also on the Arctic, an area of growing geopolitical concern for the United States. It was not immediately clear who would be nominated for the position, but State Department officials familiar with the matter expected names to be submitted soon, it wrote. Nahal Tosi.
The Arctic is of increasing interest to the United States and its biggest rivals, partly due to the effects of climate change. Warming of the region could lead to cataclysms in global sea levels, but the loss of ice has opened up new shipping routes and enabled opportunities for energy extraction. Russia, with its long Arctic coastline, has left its mark on the region, including by expanding its military presence. China is also eyeing the region, calling itself a “Near Arctic Country” and looking for ways to expand access for economic and other reasons.
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