21-07-2025
The Markets Advance Despite Trump's Attacks on the Fed and Trade Partners
Andrew here. Our 'Picture of the Day' on Friday, featuring a C.E.O. caught with his colleague from H.R. at a Coldplay concert, was just beginning to go viral and has since exploded into the meme of the summer. The executive, Andy Byron of Astronomer, resigned over the weekend. This incident raises a big question: What does this image and the ensuing public outrage reveal about us?
That's what I've been thinking about most as copycat images appear everywhere. The moment seems to encapsulate the pervasive schadenfreude within our culture, especially our office culture, and a deep-seated animosity toward bosses and colleagues. It highlights a zero-sum mentality in which a colleague's success is perceived as your loss, and their failure your gain.
Of course, this shouldn't be the case, and it should prompt us to consider how we can collectively foster a world that is a bit more supportive and gracious.
The incident also underscores our surveillance state. We're constantly being captured, our every move potentially recorded and identified. This omnipresent digital gaze is a double-edged sword.
What are your thoughts? Let me know.
'The Powell hedge'
As next week's deadline on trade talks looms, President Trump has continued to wage war on the Fed's independence. That doesn't seem to be bothering traders, though, with the Nasdaq Composite sitting in record territory and stock futures pointing to a solid opening this morning.
That calm could be tested this week as 135 companies from the S&P 500 are set to report quarterly results, which will give investors fresh insight into how Trump's trade war is affecting profits. Shares of Stellantis, the Jeep maker, fell this morning after the company reported a first-half loss of 2.3 billion euros ($2.68 billion), a hit worsened by tariffs.
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