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Aug 22 / Economy saved, but the U.S. now China?

Jackson Hole – The Valley Where Powell Sent the Markets to the Sky

The markets have been dragging their feet for days. Flat, maybe slightly declining. Today that changed. As Jerome Powell slipped into the camp of the doves, stocks rose sharply across the board. Suddenly, he didn’t sound all that worried anymore. A September rate cut? On the table.

Of course, he didn’t throw caution out the window completely. Powell still mentioned the risk of sticky inflation and labor market pressure caused by the tariff policies. But he also stressed that those inflationary effects could be temporary. Translation: the Fed is leaning toward cuts.

So, are we out of danger? I don’t think so. Tariffs are still here, supply chains remain messy, and a cut won’t magically shield the economy forever. The rally might feel like salvation, but the correction hasn’t been cancelled – just rescheduled.

U.S. Nationalize Intel – Might As Well Join the Warsaw Pact

And then came the real headline of the day. President Trump met with Intel’s CEO. According to his own words, he liked the guy – even though he just called for his resignation after Senator Tom Cotton published a “nasty” piece. Only Trump can flip like that.

But here’s the absurdity: he also suggested that the U.S. government should own 10% of Intel. The CEO, apparently frightened by the president, said he’d “consider it.”

Let’s be clear: if the administration starts nationalizing critical tech companies simply because the president feels like it, how is that any different from China? One day it’s Intel, next day maybe NVIDIA or Amazon. That’s not capitalism, that’s creeping autocracy dressed up as industrial policy.

It’s incredible that nobody is objecting to this insanity. The indifference by people from his own party is staggering. Have Republicans forgotten that not everything Trump says is gold? Have they lost their tongue or their courage? Lutnick just shared on X that the U.S. now officially own a 10% stake in Intel. That is mind-blowing and the CEO should be questioned critically. How could this happen?

I get that Trump does as he feels – sometimes waking up with the sudden urge to declare tariffs or put pressure on the Fed – but this is a totally new level. If the administration continues down this path, the U.S. and China will soon be indistinguishable.

$INTC (+3,61 %)
$NVDA (+0,78 %)
$AMZN (+2,06 %)

10 Comentarios

Solitair@Solitair

To be honest, I haven't noticed any of these price rises. My S&P 500 ETF or nasdaq 100 ETF have also risen by just half a percent. I probably have the wrong stocks in my portfolio

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Konstantin Harrer@MozartTrading

@Solitair There wasn't that much upside, considering that we have been trading around the all-time highs for days. The downside risk was there, with a more negative speech, but there is probably not much upside left in the markets at the moment.

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Jimmy@monkey_gambler

@Solitair Dollar weakens

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Solitair@Solitair

@monkey_gambler well, it doesn't matter within a day

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Jimmy@monkey_gambler

@Solitair So what period were you referring to when you said "only half a percent up"? The dollar S&P has risen sharply today, but not in euros.

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Solitair@Solitair

@monkey_gambler to today, just like the original article. "Stocks rose sharply. "Sent markets to the sky. I don't notice any of that. And from a daily perspective, it doesn't matter what the dollar is doing against the euro. So if there were sharp price rises, they would have to be seen more or less one-to-one in an S&P 500 ETF and they are not. I would describe 0.3% as normal daily background noise. Or has the dollar fallen sharply again TODAY, which has canceled out all the strong price rises today?

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financial_ninja_1235@financial_ninja_1235

@Solitair ja ca 1%

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GiCi@GiCi

And what about firing someone because you don't like the data? Is that in line with democracies? And trying to undermine indipendence (and authority) of your central bank? Redlines have already been crossed, and Intel is not as absurd as other moves. Having 10% without voting rights is nearly non-sense. Good for propaganda.

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Konstantin Harrer@MozartTrading

@GiCi true. Trump outdoes himself with ridiculous moves every day, but the Intel one was just the icing on the cake for me. The guy hates on China 24/7 and now starts nationalizing his own his own companies? I genuinely think he lost it at this point.

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GiCi@GiCi

@MozartTrading . Having a public stake in private companies that are deemed to be strategic is quite common, also in Western countries. If the public lends you money, you should tell me what you do with them or give me some shares, as would ant investment fund that is privately-held do. Private companies accepting public contributions are accountable.
So, the point is what the Governments will do with that stake. In this case is absolutely unclear and this is the big question mark, not the 10% per se.

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