Gold Holds Gains as Trump Tariff Concerns Reignite Haven Demand
Bullion traded near $3,395 an ounce after closing 1.4% higher in the previous session, as concerns about Trump's next trade moves reignited demand for havens. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said the president may issue more unilateral tariff letters before Aug. 1. The dollar had its worst day in nearly a month, making gold cheaper for most buyers.
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Trump, FCC want to reshape the media landscape starting with CBS
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump and the Federal Communications Commission have vowed to force American broadcast media outlets to make significant changes. CBS may be just the beginning. "President Trump is fundamentally reshaping the media landscape," FCC Chair Brendan Carr told CNBC Friday. "The media industry across this country needs a course correction." On Thursday, the FCC voted 2-1 to approve the $8.4 billion merger between CBS parent Paramount Global and Skydance Media after Skydance agreed to ensure CBS news and entertainment programming is free of bias, hire an ombudsman for at least two years to review complaints and end diversity programs. Trump has repeatedly attacked broadcast networks for what he perceives as unbiased news coverage and called on Carr to rescind their licenses. "The new owners of CBS came in and said, 'It's time for a change. We're going to reorient it towards getting rid of bias," Carr said. "At the end of the day that's what made the difference for us." Carr's comments suggest the FCC will ramp up efforts to rid mainstream media of what he and President Trump consider a deep and enduring liberal bias, creating an opening for more conservative views among the biggest media companies. The FCC regulates broadcast media outlets, which use the public airways and are required to act in the public interest. Carr has cited the public interest standard in seeking the changes at CBS. Democratic FCC Commission Anna Gomez accused Paramount of "cowardly capitulation" to the Trump administration. She also said the FCC was imposing "never-before-seen controls over newsroom decisions and editorial judgment, in direct violation of the First Amendment and the law." Earlier this month, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a $20 billion lawsuit filed by Trump, claiming CBS News' "60 Minutes" deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount did not admit wrongdoing. Some Democrats have called the payment a bribe and vowed to investigate. "Trump demands allegiance from everyone around him and it's disgusting to see companies like Skydance and Paramount bowing to his endless and illegal demands," Representative Frank Pallone said. Soon after being designated chair by Trump in January, Carr reinstated a "60 Minutes" complaint, as well as complaints about how Walt Disney's ABC News moderated the pre-election televised debate between then-President Joe Biden and Trump and Comcast's NBC for allowing Harris to appear on "Saturday Night Live" shortly before the election. Disney and Comcast did not immediately comment Friday. Carr told Reuters Thursday the FCC is not closing its investigation into the "60 Minutes" interview. The FCC has required companies like T-Mobile and Verizon to end diversity programs before approving deals. Carr in February told Comcast he was opening a probe into its diversity efforts. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Trading day: Ending on another high
By Jamie McGeever ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) -- TRADING DAY Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with comments at . You can also follow me at @ReutersJamie and @ For the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, the week ended on Friday as it began on Monday: new highs on growing confidence that the U.S. will strike favorable trade deals with major trading partners and that tariffs won't choke growth, and optimism around the earnings-boosting power of artificial intelligence. This offset some less encouraging signals from U.S. and European earnings about the impact of tariffs and trade uncertainty. But the bulls are in control, it seems, and markets go into next week's heavy event risk at or near their all-time highs. This Week's Key Market Moves * The S&P 500 gains 1.5%, rising every day of the week, andthe Nasdaq rises 1%. * Intel shares slump 10.4% on Q2 loss. * Japan's Nikkei 225 jumps 4%, getting to within 1% of lastJuly's record high 42,426 points. * Japan's 10-year JGB yield rises 7.5 bps, its biggestweekly rise since May, to a 17-year high above 1.60%. * China's yuan rises to its strongest level of the year,reaching 7.1478 per dollar on Thursday. Ending on another high The week just ended saw a wave of record stock market highs on Wall Street and around the world as investors cheered the US-Japan trade deal and a raft of corporate earnings results. Next week will be packed with even more market-sensitive events. Policy decisions from the Fed and other major central banks, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference, U.S. PCE inflation, earnings from four of the 'Magnificent Seven' tech giants, and Washington's August 1 tariff deadline for most countries await. Meanwhile, U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in Stockholm to discuss extending the August 12 deadline for reaching a trade deal. This will be U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's third round of talks with his Chinese counterparts That's a lot to be heaped onto investors' plate, and one wonders how they will digest it all. It wouldn't be a surprise if market volatility picked up from surprisingly low levels - the VIX index is the lowest in five months, and the Treasury market's MOVE index is near its recent three and a half-year low. Meanwhile, demand for U.S. government debt will be tested as the Treasury auctions $173 billion of notes in the 2-7 year part of the curve. Recent auctions of longer-dated bonds have drawn strong demand and foreign private sector investors bought huge quantities of Treasuries in May, which bodes well. But the sales come as Treasury also announces its quarterly refunding plans, a reminder that investors will have around $1 trillion of new debt to absorb by year end, an increasing share of that in bills. Chart of the Week What's driving the rally on Wall Street? Lots of things, including tariff relief, trade deals, and renewed optimism around AI. One potential red flag, however, is the amount of leverage fueling it. Figures from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) show that margin debt in U.S. stocks has crossed the $1 trillion mark for the first time. This comprises retail and institutional investors, but is thought to be more skewed toward the retail cohort. Of course, investors' margin debt should rise over time in line with inflation and the underlying equity indices. But it's a marker. Here are some of the best things I read this week: 1. How Europe can avoid a transatlantic trade war -Brookings 2. Rethinking the Politics of Money - Katharina Pistor 3. The Case that China is Now Actively Resisting Pressureon the Yuan to Appreciate - Brad Setser 4. Inflation Comes Home to Roost With the Help of Trump'sTariffs - Rebecca Patterson 5. Global Current Account Balances Widen, ReversingNarrowing Trend - IMF's Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas What could move markets on Monday? * India industrial production (June) * U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Stockholm for tradetalks * U.S. Treasury auctions $69 billion of two-year notes and$70 billion of five-year notes Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Trading Day is also sent by email every weekday morning. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. (Writing by Jamie McGeever;)
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House ethics panel tells Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to pay more for Met Gala attendance
Congress Ethics WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee on Friday told Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to make additional payments for her attendance at the 2021 Met Fashion Gala, where she drew attention for wearing a dress adorned with the message 'tax the rich." The ethics panel, which found the New York Democrat had underpaid for some of the services and clothing for the event, also issued reports Friday on unrelated ethics allegations against Reps. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick or Florida and Henry Cuellar of Texas. In a 31-page report on the allegations against Ocasio-Cortez, the Ethics Committee said she had tried to comply with House rules on accepting gifts but failed by 'impermissibly accepting a gift of free admission to the 2021 Met Gala for her partner and by failing to pay full fair market value for some of the items worn to the event.' As a guest of Vogue, Ocasio-Cortez and her partner received tickets to the gala valued at $35,000, as well as customized clothing, hair and makeup styling and a hotel room to prepare for the high-society event. The congresswoman worked with an attorney to comply with House ethics rules and paid for most of the goods and services with personal funds, but the ethics panel found "the payments were significantly delayed and some payments fell short of fair market value.' In a statement, Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, Mike Casca, said: 'The Congresswoman appreciates the Committee finding that she made efforts to ensure her compliance with House Rules and sought to act consistently with her ethical requirements as a Member of the House. She accepts the ruling and will remedy the remaining amounts, as she's done at each step in this process.' Rep. Mike Kelly The House Ethics Committee issued a formal reproval Friday of Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., following a yearslong investigation into an insider-trading allegation over his wife's purchase of stock in a steel company in his Butler-area congressional district. The panel also said Kelly and his wife, Victoria Kelly, should divest of any stock in the company, Cleveland-Cliffs, before the congressman takes any further official actions related to it. While the committee said it 'did not find evidence' that Kelly 'knowingly or intentionally caused his spouse to trade based on insider information,' its report also said it 'did not receive full cooperation from Mrs. Kelly and was therefore unable to determine whether her stock purchase was improper.' However, the report said, 'Representative Kelly's failure to acknowledge the seriousness of the alleged misconduct' and of the investigation itself was a violation of the code of official conduct. The committee did 'not find a clear violation' of conflict of interest. The congressman said in a statement Friday, 'My family and I look forward to putting this distraction behind us." Kelly noted the investigation has 'unnecessarily' lasted for nearly five years, and in the time since the Cleveland Cliffs Butler Works plant faced an uncertain future. 'Throughout this process, I have fought for the 1,400 workers at the plant, I've spoken with these workers, and they appreciate the hard work we have done to fight for those jobs and for Butler,' Kelly said. The investigation was launched after a July 2021 referral regarding allegations the congressman's wife may have purchased stock based on confidential or nonpublic information he had learned during official duties. The Ethics Committee staff reviewed more than 25,000 pages of documents, the report said, and interviewed people including the congressman. It found Kelly had advocated for so-called Section 232 tariffs for the product the plant produced even after Mrs. Kelly held stock in Cleveland-Cliffs. 'He took several actions to specifically benefit Cleveland-Cliffs during the time his wife had a direct financial interest in the company,' it said. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick The House Ethics Committee announced Friday it had unanimously voted to reauthorize an investigative subcommittee to examine allegations involving Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. In May, the Office of Congressional Ethics referred several allegations to the House Ethics committee, including claims Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat, accepted campaign contributions tied to official actions and requested community project funding for a for-profit entity. The south Florida congresswoman has previously faced scrutiny over her campaign activities and the use of her congressional office. And earlier this year, a Florida state agency sued a company owned by her family, alleging it overcharged the state by nearly $5.8 million for pandemic-related work and has refused to return the funds. In a statement, Cherfilus-McCormick underscored that the ethics panel had not reached any final decision and that the further review does not mean she made any violations. 'I fully respect the process and remain committed to cooperating with the Committee as it works to bring this inquiry to a close,' she said. Rep. Henry Cuellar The House Ethics Committee also reauthorized its investigation into Rep. Henry Cuellar over whether he engaged in multiple illegal abuses of his office. The committee launched its investigation into the Texas Democrat last year after the Justice Department indicted Cuellar on numerous federal charges, including bribery, conspiracy and money laundering. The committee said in its reauthorization that lawmakers are 'aware of the risks associated with dual investigations' and cautioned that 'the mere fact of an investigation into these allegations does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.' Cuellar's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ___ Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Matt Brown contributed. Solve the daily Crossword
