Stock Indexes Jump as TSMC Powers Tech Rally; Oil Futures Slump as Trump Lowers Iran Tensions

As the Trump-Fed Battle Heats Up, Some Experts Worry About What Could Be Next

FROM 48 minutes ago

President Donald Trump has long complained that interest rates are too high. Experts say his pressure campaign against the Federal Reserve isn’t helping him.

While Trump and Powell have have a bumpy public relationship, this weekend’s affairs—Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation into whether he lied to Congress while testifying last year on the costs of renovating Federal Reserve headquarters—marked an escalation. Powell called the investigation politically motivated and “a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”

The administration has sought to pressure the Fed, which operates independently of the White House, to aggressively lower interest rates. Policymakers gradually cut rates last year to support a weakening labor market, but have rebuffed calls to move faster, worried it might fuel inflation. Most Fed watchers expect some cuts this year, though not as many as Trump might prefer.

Market measures of inflation expectations inched higher this week, but didn’t jump, suggesting investors don’t see the investigation having a major effect on rates. That cool has alarmed some observers: Former Fed Chair and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday morning told CNBC she was “surprised the market isn’t more concerned.”

Read the full article here.

–Colin Laidley

Eli Lilly, Boston Scientific Lead Health Stocks Lower

FROM 1 hr 26 min ago

The S&P 500 is having a strong session thus far today. Not so for Eli Lilly, Boston Scientic, and other health stocks.

The S&P 500 Health Care Sector is down 1.1% in recent trading on a day when the benchmark index is up 0.7% overall.

Eli Lilly (LLY) and Boston Scientific (BSX) are leading the sector lower, with declines of roughly 5% and 4.5%, respectively. The firms are the two biggest decliners in the S&P 500 overall Thursday.

Lilly shares fell after a Reuters report that the Food and Drug Administration delayed a decision on the firm’s weight-loss pill, while Boston Scientific stock dropped after the company agreed to buy medical-devices maker Penumbra for $14.5 billion.

3 Common Money Regrets Americans Faced Last Year and How To Avoid Them in 2026

FROM 1 hr 52 min ago

Last year, did you splurge on a pair of shoes you couldn’t afford or fail to open an IRA even though you told yourself you would? If so, you’re not alone.

A Credit Karma survey of more than 1,000 Americans found that the top financial regrets for 2025 were not saving enough money (38%), making impulse purchases (28%), not saving for retirement (14%), and overspending due to pressure from a romantic partner or friends (14%).

As you draft your financial plans for 2026, here’s what you can do to avoid some of these common money regrets.

Read the full article here.

–Trina Paul

Chip Stocks Are Soaring. An Industry Giant’s Results Sent This Signal About AI Demand

FROM 2 hr 27 min ago

Semiconductor stocks rallied Thursday morning, after stronger-than-expected results from an industry giant pointed to growing demand for AI hardware.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), the largest contract chipmaker in the world, said Thursday that it generated record revenue of 1.05 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($33.73 billion) in the fourth quarter, with profits of $3.14 per American Depositary Receipt. Both figures topped Wall Street estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

TSMC’s U.S.-listed surged over 6% to a record high Thursday morning. Shares of Dutch chip equipment maker and TSMC supplier ASML (ASML) also jumped 6%. Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), Micron Technology (MU), Broadcom (AVGO) and other semiconductor stocks climbed as well.

Read the full article here.

–Aaron McDade

Will the Fed Cut Interest Rates in 2026? Don’t Get Your Hopes Up, Some Experts Say

FROM 3 hr 34 min ago

Interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2026 seemed like a foregone conclusion not long ago, but several experts are casting doubt on that assumption.

J.P. Morgan Chief Economist Michael Feroli is among the more prominent forecasters who don’t expect the Fed to make any cuts this year.

“If you look at financial markets or GDP growth, it doesn’t really feel like rates are restrictive when we see how strong those variables are performing,” Feroli said in an interview Wednesday on CNBC. He cited retail sales numbers that were released early Wednesday as the latest sign of economic strength. “I think the case for a cut in the near term is pretty weak.”

Feroli’s prediction goes against the expectation of financial market participants, who are pricing in a likelihood of two quarter-point cuts in the Fed’s benchmark rate in 2026, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Vail Resorts Stock Drops on Sharply Lower Skier Visits

FROM 4 hr 44 min ago

Vail Resorts’ season-to-date skier visits are going downhill.

Shares of Vail Resorts (MTN) fell nearly 4% in premarket trading Thursday after the company reported season-to-date skier visits for its North American destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas through Jan. 4 were down 20% year-over-year.

Vail Resorts added that season-to-date dining revenue was down 15.9%, ski school revenue was 14.9% lower, and total lift revenue was down 1.8%.

“We experienced one of the worst early season snowfalls in the western U.S. in over 30 years, which limited our ability to open terrain and negatively impacted visitation and ancillary spending for both local and destination guests during the period,” CEO Rob Katz said. “Snowfall at our western U.S. resorts for November and December was approximately 50% below the historical 30-year average. In the Rockies, snowfall was down nearly 60% versus the historical 30-year average.”

Katz said the company now sees full-year Resort Reported EBITDA just below the low end of its previous guidance range of $842 million to $898 million.

Vail Resorts stock entered Thursday having lost nearly a quarter of its value over the past year.

High-Income Consumers Are Living Larger, While Others Cut Protein to Make Ends Meet, New Fed Report Finds

FROM 5 hr 14 min ago

Low- and middle-income Americans are switching to generic products, eating less protein, cutting back on travel, and generally having a harder time paying the bills.

That’s according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book released Wednesday, which is based on data collected from mid-November to early January. It’s filled with examples from around the country of the “K-shaped” economy, with high-income Americans doing better while others struggle. The Beige Book is a report by eight of the Fed’s branches detailing economic conditions in those regions, compiled by Fed officials who interview local business and community leaders.

Overall, it shows that the economy improved somewhat in December from November, even as hiring remained slow and inflation stayed stubbornly high. While overall economic activity picked up, lower- and moderate-income consumers were squeezed by rising costs and wages that can’t keep up with price hikes.

“Several districts also noted that spending was stronger among higher-income consumers, with increased spending on luxury goods, travel, tourism, and experiential activities,” the report said. “Meanwhile, low- to moderate-income consumers were increasingly price sensitive and hesitant to spend on nonessential goods and services.” 

For example, retail establishments catering to higher-end customers reported increased sales to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Why Venezuela Struggles to Produce Oil Despite Having the World’s Largest Reserves

FROM 5 hr 36 min ago

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves—303 billion barrels, about 17% of the global total and more than Saudi Arabia’s 267 billion. Yet Venezuela produces fewer than 1 million barrels per day, less than 1% of global output. That’s less than a third of what it pumped in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when production topped 3.5 million barrels daily.

So what happened? It’s the result of political decisions, economic sanctions, and the sheer difficulty of extracting Venezuela’s heavy crude.

Having oil reserves doesn’t mean you can easily produce it for the world’s markets. Most of Venezuela’s crude is extra-heavy oil, closer in consistency to asphalt than gasoline.

Read the full article here.

–Peter Gratton

Stock Futures Rise as TSMC Leads Tech Rally

FROM 6 hr 26 min ago

Futures contracts associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked 0.1% higher.

S&P 500 futures pointed 0.4% higher.

Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.8%.