Bonds & Stocks
US equity futures retreated and bonds fell as some of the euphoria around expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts eased, with concerns about tariffs and their impact on inflation and corporate profits back in focus. Contracts on the S&P 500 edged lower after the gauge jumped the most since May on Friday.
Economy
This year, the Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium, which wrapped up Saturday, was at times a tense affair and drove home how difficult the path ahead is for the US central bank. On Friday, Chair Jerome Powell used his keynote speech to signal the Fed is headed for an interest-rate cut as soon as its next policy meeting in September. Yet there are clear divisions among policymakers over whether that’s the right call. Powell, himself, noted the economy has handed Fed officials a “challenging situation.”
World
Israel said it’s willing to start withdrawing its troops from Lebanon if the government there follows through with a plan to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah by year’s end. The offer marks a rare public overture by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called the decision by Lebanon to task the army with demilitarizing the Lebanese militia “momentous.”