Here's a Better Plan for Retirement Than Social Security
Bessent was more right the first time, only I would suggest tackling Social Security head on. If done right, private retirement accounts for kids could provide a far more dignified retirement than what Social Security can offer. But to get there, Trump's new accounts require some tweaks.
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Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dollar drifts as investors await Fed governor replacement
By Rae Wee SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The dollar was rangebound on Wednesday, with investors choosing to stay on the sidelines ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to fill a coming vacancy on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. Trump said on Tuesday he will decide on a nominee by the end of the week and had separately narrowed the possible replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to a short list of four. Data out the same day also showed the U.S. services sector activity unexpectedly flatlined in July even as input costs climbed by the most in nearly three years, underscoring the hit from Trump's tariffs on the economy, which has also begun to bite corporate earnings. Still, those did little to sway the dollar, as traders were hesitant to take on fresh positions ahead of news on who would fill the Fed board vacancy. Concerns are mounting that partisan loyalty would invade the staid world of central bank policy. The dollar was last little changed at 147.54 yen, while the euro ticked up 0.02% to $1.5760. Sterling last bought $1.3304. Moves in currencies overnight had been muted. "I still think that between now and the end of the week, if Trump is going to make an announcement about who he wants to fill the vacant board seat, depending on... how credible (the markets) view that candidate to be, I think that has the potential to prompt some reaction across everything," said Ray Attrill, head of FX research at National Australia Bank (NAB). "For me, that' the biggest swing factor for the next sort of 48 hours or so." While moves in the dollar have been more subdued this week, the currency has yet to recover from its steep losses on Friday, when it clocked its largest one-day percentage fall in nearly four months following an alarming jobs report. Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was last at 98.76, still some distance away from its peak of 100.25 hit on Friday before the nonfarm payrolls figures. Traders continue to price in an over 90% chance of a Fed cut in September, with about 58 basis points worth of easing expected by the year-end. But data such as Tuesday's services ISM report underscore the fine line the Fed has to tread, as policymakers weigh rising price pressures from Trump's tariffs against signs of a weakening U.S. economy. "The services ISM has obviously got that kind of stagflationary whiff about it... that's obviously a bit of a two-edged sword in terms of what does that mean for policy," said NAB's Attrill. "At the moment, I think we're sort of of the view that maybe there's a bit too much confidence in the market about the certainty of a September move." In other currencies, the Australian dollar rose 0.15% to $0.6479, while the New Zealand dollar gained 0.23% to $0.5914. New Zealand's jobless rate rose slightly in the second quarter as the labour market remained soft, data on Wednesday showed, supporting the view that the central bank will proceed with a flagged 25 basis-point interest cut at its August policy meeting. 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
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US axes mRNA vaccine contracts, casting safety doubts
President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday announced it would terminate 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines, questioning the safety of a technology credited with helping end the Covid pandemic and saving millions of lives. The announcement, made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., marks his latest effort to weave vaccine skepticism into the core of US government policy. "We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted," Kennedy said in a statement. The health department's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is "terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu," he added. "We're shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate." The changes affect Moderna's mRNA bird flu vaccine -- a move the company itself disclosed in May -- as well as numerous other programs, including "rejection or cancellation of multiple pre-award solicitations" from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Sanofi. In total, the affected projects are worth "nearly $500 million," the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said. Certain late-stage projects were excluded from the move "to preserve prior taxpayer investment." "Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them," Secretary Kennedy said. "That's why we're moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions." Since taking office, Kennedy, who spent two decades sowing misinformation around immunization, has overseen a major overhaul of US health policy -- firing, for example, a panel of vaccine experts that advise the government and replacing them with his own appointees. In its first meeting, the new panel promptly voted to ban a longstanding vaccine preservative targeted by the anti-vaccine movement, despite its strong safety record. He has also ordered a sweeping new study on the long-debunked link between vaccines and autism. Unlike traditional vaccines, which often use weakened or inactivated forms of the target virus or bacteria, mRNA shots deliver genetic instructions into the host's cells, prompting them to produce a harmless decoy of the pathogen and train the immune system to fight the real thing. Though in development for decades, mRNA vaccines were propelled from lab benches to widespread use through President Trump's Operation Warp Speed -- a public-private partnership led by BARDA that poured billions into companies to accelerate development. The technology's pioneers, Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work contributing "to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times." ia/jgc
CNBC
29 minutes ago
- CNBC
CNBC Daily Open: Trump's interview suggests he's not backing down from his policies
U.S. President Donald Trump joined CNBC's "Squawk Box" Tuesday for a lengthy interview that touched on tariffs, the Federal Reserve, the state of Russia's economy and being rejected as a customer by JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. For those pressed on time and want a very broad TL;DR: Trump appears to be digging in on his policies. With modified country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs due to start Aug. 7 — and duties on India to be raised within the next 24 hours, according to Trump's comments during the interview — the Trump administration seems to be turning its attention to sectoral ones. Trump told CNBC that he will announce his tariff plan for semiconductors "within the next week or so." Additionally, he will impose "a small tariff" on pharmaceutical imports before ratcheting it up to 250% within a year and a half. The U.S. president doesn't look like he's backing down from his feud with the central bank, either. Days after the Fed chose to hold interest rates, Trump discussed his potential candidates to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair. Among those contenders are former Governor Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett, the National Economic Council director. "Both Kevins are very good," Trump said. Whichever Kevin — or "other people that are very good, too," in Trump's words — assumes the role when Powell's term ends in May 2026 (or is truncated earlier, depending on Trump's moves), they would have to help prop up an economy that seems to be slowing, as indicated by July's startling jobs report and ISM Services index. Semiconductor tariffs in the works. In an interview with CNBC, Trump said he will announce new tariffs on semiconductors as soon as next week. He also said he'd impose a "small tariff" on pharmaceuticals before raising it to as high as 250%. Trump has four candidates for Fed chair. While the president didn't reveal their identities, he said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has taken himself out of consideration. Major U.S. stock indexes pull back. Stocks retreated Tuesday on ISM data that indicated the services sector nearly shrank in July. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index added 0.15%, but European semiconductor stocks fell on Trump's tariff comment. AMD's earnings fall short of expectations. That's despite the chipmaker reporting second-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street estimates. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices lost more than 6% in extended trading. [PRO] Topping expectations might not be enough. Even though the S&P 500 is on track for second-quarter earnings growth of almost double digits, compared with a year earlier, investors are giving a muted response, according to Goldman Sachs. Russia's economy 'stinks,' Trump says, and lower oil prices will stop its warmachine The rift between Moscow and Washington looks set to deepen. "Putin will stop killing people if you get energy down another $10 a barrel. He's going to have no choice because his economy stinks," Trump, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday. The comments come after relations between Moscow and Washington, which remained cordial at the start of Trump's second term in office despite the ongoing war, soured in recent weeks.
