5 things to know before the stock market opens on Monday
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump disputed a Wall Street Journal report that said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advocated against firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump, who is suing the publication over a story that said the president sent a "bawdy" birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, called the report involving Bessent and Powell "typically untruthful" in a social media post. This marks the latest chapter in the public and escalating saga between the White House and the central bank chief. For weeks, Trump's disciples have ratcheted up attacks on Powell as the Fed holds interest rates steady amid uncertainty tied to the president's contentious tariff plan.
Speaking of tariffs, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday reaffirmed the Aug. 1 deadline set by the White House in its plan for broad and steep levies. (For those who keep their calendars up-to-date, that's next Friday.) Lutnick told CBS News that the U.S. would start expecting payments tied to the tariffs on that date and that it was a "hard deadline," but he noted that countries can continue negotiating beyond the deadline. However, U.S. trading partners may be wondering if the commerce chief's statement is more bark than bite — especially after previously set deadlines were pushed back.
Alaska Airlines resumed operations early Monday morning after grounding all of its flights for around three hours because of an IT outage. The company did not immediately share specifics on the type of outage, according to Reuters. Just last month, Alaska-owned Hawaiian Airlines faced a hack to some of its IT systems. Tech companies are taking notice and have raised alarm on hackers showing particular interest in the aviation sector. In other cyber news, Microsoft on Saturday reported "active attacks" on its servers used by government agencies and businesses.
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, who captured the internet's fascination after being caught on camera during a Coldplay concert embracing his company's human resources chief, has resigned. If you need to go back to the start (pun intended): A clip went viral showing Byron ducking out of view after being filmed in an intimate position with Kristin Cabot, Astronomer's chief people officer. If it wasn't awkward enough, lead singer Chris Martin says in the now-famous clip that "either they're having an affair or they're just very shy." Byron's departure comes after the company, which was little-known prior to the viral video, said on Friday that it was launching a formal investigation into the incident.
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President Donald Trump reached a trade deal with the European Union during his trip to Scotland over the July 27 weekend. Trump had previously threatened a 30% tariff on European goods in July, which he said would go into effect on Aug. 1. The deal announced following Trump's meeting with the European Commission president includes a 15% tariff on most goods from Europe and $600 billion in EU investments in the U.S. But Steel and aluminum will continue to face higher rates. The Europeans had pushed for a 10% tariff rate, which still would have been higher than before Trump took office this year. The deal comes as Trump's second extension on April's "Liberation Day" tariffs approaches another deadline. He has also made trade deals with several countries since he last delayed "reciprocal tariffs" in July. But how does the tariff rate in this deal compare to trade between the U.S. and EU before the on-again, off-again tariffs that have been a central theme in Trump's second presidency? What does TACO mean? Trump sends tariff rate letters and pushes Liberation Day deadline. What were the tariffs on EU goods before Trump? Before Trump returned to office, tariffs on goods coming to the U.S. from Europe were significantly lower, averaging in the low single digits, according to the New York Times. CNN reported the average American tariff rate on European imports was 1.2% before this presidency. Trump has long been critical of the EU for the trade deficit, saying it was "formed to screw the United States." What are tariffs? A tariff is a tax on imports paid by the businesses buying goods from abroad, but the cost is usually passed on to consumers. Despite the jump from the previous tariff rates, the markets responded positively. U.S. stock futures were higher the morning after the deal was announced. August 1 deadline imposed by Trump looms for many countries Trump deemed April 2 "Liberation Day" when he announced widespread tariffs on goods from most countries, spanning from a baseline of 10% up to at least 50% in some places. But shortly after, he paused most of the rates above 10% for 90 days. That first 90 days expired on July 9, but he extended the deadline again and began issuing letters announcing the new tariff rates on exports from other countries. On the second delay, he said the new deadline would be August 1, and vowed that date would not be changed. The deal announced with the EU, the group of 27 countries that together make up one of the world's biggest economies, is similar to other deals that have been announced in recent weeks with other major trade partners such as Japan. Contributing: Savannah Kuchar, Bart Jansen, Medora Lee, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @
