CNBC Daily Open: Trump's interview suggests he's not backing down from his policies
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Pump's PUMP Is Pumping Again—Can the Solana Token Keep It Up?
The crypto market continues its climb back upwards: Bitcoin and Ethereum are demonstrating resilience, with gains helping to propel the market as a whole back above $3.8 trillion. But there's one coin making a much more impressive comeback way down on the list of the top 100 by market cap: the appropriately named PUMP, the native token of the Solana meme coin launchpad While Bitcoin's modest 2% gain to above $115,000 provides stability, it appears the real action is happening in Solana's meme coin trenches. PUMP token has exploded 35% over the past week—making it the standout performer in an otherwise choppy market. What's going on? Let's zoom out: The broader crypto market recovery comes as traditional markets find their footing after President Donald Trump's latest tariff announcements sent the S&P 500 tumbling 1.6% and the Nasdaq dropping 2.24% on Friday—their worst single-day losses since May and April. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq erased those losses today. The cryptocurrency market's 6.7% decline to begin August initially looked like the start of something uglier, but Monday's recovery has bulls breathing easier. Analysts attribute the drop primarily to profit-taking by traders following a strong rally in July, with no clear signs of panic selling or systemic weakness in the market. This narrative of "healthy consolidation" rather than collapse has emboldened dip buyers, with 95% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies posting gains in the past 24 hours. Ethereum today is up nearly 3% to above $3,600, and XRP is clinging to that all-important $3.00 price point. But with no top 10 coin breaking the 3% barrier, the real fun is reserved for meme coin traders—who really needed it after the recent bloodbath they went through. PUMP price: Bulls defeat the FUD remarkable turnaround validates our prior analysis that aggressive buybacks would eventually overwhelm selling pressure and that signs point to a price recovery—or at least heavy pressure against bears. Pump's PUMP fell to as low as $0.002283 in late July, well below the ICO price of $.004 when the token launched on July 14. The company raised $600 million after selling out its ICO in just 12 seconds, and the hype propelled PUMP to above a $6 billion fully diluted value just days later. But the hype didn't last, the price of PUMP soon came tumbling down. The company turned things around for PUMP holders when it announced token buybacks at the end of July just as the token hit bottom, which it has since carried out daily. The company is taking the daily revenue generated from its launchpad and putting it back into the chart, so far buying $23 million worth of PUMP, according to its own figures. As a result, PUMP is up more than 30% in the last seven days. So what do the charts say now? The token currently trades at $0.0034 and is approaching a critical broken support near the $0.0035-$0.0040 after the weekly surge. In terms of price direction, the last few days generated respectable bullish support after the token bottomed. Prices have already broken past two resistance levels around the $0.003 and $0.032 marks, which is a good sign for day and swing traders. The Relative Strength Index, or RSI, for PUMP sits at 67, approaching but not yet breaching the 70 overbought threshold. For context, RSI measures price momentum on a 0 to 100 scale. Readings above 70 typically signal overextension where profit-taking emerges while below 30 indicates oversold conditions ripe for bounces. At 67, PUMP shows strong buying pressure without triggering automatic-selling algorithms, suggesting room for PUMP's pump to grow. Traders would very likely interpret this as particularly bullish given the token's 35% weekly gain hasn't pushed the indicator into dangerous territory. The Average Directional Index, or ADX, for PUMP is at 27, which marks a very interesting development. ADX measures trend strength regardless of direction. As a general rule, numbers below 20 indicate no trend, 20-25 shows developing momentum, and above 25 confirms established directional movement until prices register 40 points or more, at which point the trend is considered to be very powerful. PUMP's ADX crossing above 25 signals the bearish correction that drove prices down 47% from May highs is either over or not strong enough to maintain the same bearish direction in case bears remain in play. The Exponential Moving Averages, or EMAs, for PUMP are also compelling. EMAs measure the average price of an asset over a set period of time. For PUMP, being such a young token, the 4-hour charts are where to look. The 50-period EMA (the average price of the last week or 50 candlesticks of 4 hours each) currently trades below the 200-period EMA (the average price of the last month, more specifically, 200 candlesticks of 4 hours each), and this is a textbook bearish formation for prices. But the narrowing gap between these averages (considering the prices are finally going up) suggests an impending "golden cross" reversal if prices keep heading in the same direction. When the faster EMA50 crosses above the slower EMA200, it historically marks the beginning of sustained uptrends. Smart money appears to be front-running this technical milestone. The coin is not there yet, but the price action can give bull traders some hope. The Squeeze Momentum Indicator shows 'off' status on the 4-hour chart, indicating volatility has already been released from recent compression. This diverges from daily timeframes showing continued squeeze, suggesting different trader cohorts are positioning for the next major move. When multiple timeframes align, explosive price action typically follows. The indicator currently points to a possible bounce from to the current support, which would not be unexpected considering the price spike. A trader might say it's a good accumulation zone for those expecting the recovery trend to remain in play for a while longer. Key Levels: Immediate support: $0.0030 (ascending trendline from July lows) Strong support: $0.0023 (July capitulation low and psychological floor) Immediate resistance: $0.003567 (current test level and prior rejection zone) Strong resistance: $0.004113 (50% retracement of entire decline, major breakout target) The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fed will likely need to cut rates in coming months, Daly says
(Reuters) -Citing a slowing labor market and her assessment that tariffs pose only a short-term threat to inflation, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly on Wednesday said she believes the U.S. central bank will need to cut interest rates soon. "Inflation, absent tariffs, has been gradually trending down, and with a slowing economy and ongoing restrictive monetary policy, should continue to do so," Daly said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Anchorage Economic Summit, adding that while tariffs will boost inflation in the near-term, they likely won't do so persistently. Meanwhile, she said, the labor market has softened. "I would see additional slowing as unwelcome, especially since we know that once the labor market stumbles, it tends to fall quickly and hard," Daly said. "All this means that we will likely need to adjust policy in the coming months." The Fed decided last week to keep short-term interest rates in their current 4.25%-4.50% range.
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Apple set to dodge bulk of India tariffs
Apple (AAPL) is set to largely escape the Trump administration's upcoming promise of 50% tariff on goods made in India destined for the US. A White House official confirmed Wednesday that Apple's semiconductor-powered devices, which include its iPhone, will be unaffected by Trump's 25% 'reciprocal' tariffs set to go into effect Thursday. The same goes for an upcoming promise of an additional 25% levy related to India's use of Russian oil that is set to be in place in about 3 weeks' time. IPhones and other similar products will be subject to a separate tariff authority which has not yet been unveiled. Apple said during its most recent earnings call that it made the majority of its US-bound iPhones in India. The news comes after The White House announced that Apple will announce an additional $100 billion investment in US manufacturing during a 4:30 pm ET press event Wednesday. That's in addition to the $500 billion Apple said earlier this year it would invest in the country. Trump has criticized Apple's decision to move manufacturing from China to India and not the US, saying during his May trip to the Middle East that he had a 'little problem' with CEO Tim Cook. Other Trump administration officials have also lambasted Apple for not producing its phones in the US, with trade adviser Peter Navarro calling it the 'longest-running soap opera in Silicon Valley,' during a July interview with CNBC. But according to experts, it would take years for Apple to stand up a smartphone supply chain base in the US. What's more, there are no phone manufacturers in the country and not enough workers to fill the necessary roles. Todd Weaver, developer of Purism's Liberty Phone, a privacy-centric smartphone that uses US-built electronics, says it took his company years to set up the facilities and source the necessary components to ensure the phone's processing and communications features all come from America. Even so, he explained, the phone's body is still made overseas. Apple began expanding its supply chain beyond China following the lockdowns and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But it started specifically concentrating US iPhone manufacturing in India to avoid Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods. Apple hasn't been entirely immune from the impact of tariffs, though. In Q3, the company said it took an $800 million hit from Trump's levies and it expects an additional $1.1 billion in charges in the fourth quarter. While Apple might be able to dodge tariffs on goods out of India, the company isn't entirely out of the woods. The Trump administration is expected to unveil the results of its Section 232 investigation into semiconductor tariffs, which could impact everything from smartphones to automobiles. The exact timing for the tariff announcement is still up in the air, but Trump has said he could reveal them as soon as next week. Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@ Follow him on X/Twitter at @DanielHowley. Sign in to access your portfolio
