Loading
That helped to offset big gains for some homebuilders after they reported stronger profits for the spring than Wall Street had forecast. D.R. Horton rallied 17 per cent, and PulteGroup jumped 11.5 per cent. That was even as both companies said homebuyers are continuing to deal with challenging conditions, including higher mortgage rates and an uncertain economy.
So far, the US economy seems to be powering through the uncertainty created by Trump’s on-and-off tariffs. Many of Trump’s proposed taxes on imports are currently on pause, and the next big deadline is August 1. Talks are under way on possible trade deals with other countries that could lower the stiff proposals before they kick in.
Trump said he reached a trade agreement with the Philippines following a meeting Tuesday at the White House, that will see the US slightly drop its tariff rate for the Philippines without paying import taxes for what it sells there.
Coca-Cola slipped 0.6 per cent even though it delivered a stronger profit than forecast. Its revenue for the quarter only edged past analysts’ expectations, and it said that higher prices that it charged helped offset sales of fewer cases during the spring. The company also said it’s launching a new Coke product for American consumers made with US cane sugar, rather that corn fructose syrup, this year.
Tuesday’s announcement came less than a week after President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that the company agreed to use cane sugar in its US Coke beverages. On a call with analysts, chief executive officer James Quincey thanked the president for his “enthusiasm for our Coca-Cola brand.”
In the bond market, Treasury yields sank as traders continue to expect the Federal Reserve to wait until September at the earliest to resume cutting interest rates.
Trump has labelled Fed chief Jerome Powell a “numbskull”.Credit: AP
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been insisting he wants to see more data about how Trump’s tariffs are affecting inflation and the economy before the Fed makes its next move. That’s despite often angry criticism from Trump, who has been lobbying for more cuts to rates to happen sooner.
Powell has been insisting he wants to see more data about how Trump’s tariffs are affecting inflation and the economy before the Fed makes its next move. That’s despite often angry criticism from Trump, who has been lobbying for more cuts to rates to happen sooner.
Powell is a “numbskull” who has kept interest rates too high, but he will be out in eight months, Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Loading
“I think he’s done a bad job, but he’s going to be out pretty soon anyway. In eight months, he’ll be out,” he said from a meeting at the White House with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Powell’s term as Fed chair runs through May 15, and he has repeatedly said he will not leave the post early. Eight months would mean Powell would remain in place until mid-March; it was not immediately clear why Trump picked that time frame.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.34 per cent from 4.38 per cent late Monday.