Today's stories that matter
It’s Fed-watch week: minutes and Jackson Hole will steer rate odds. Big-box retail earnings take the pulse of spending, China re-ups growth support, fresh chip tariffs loom, and Google’s SMR plan hints at a new energy backbone for AI.
🏦 Fed week: Jackson Hole & FOMC minutes take center stage
Markets head into a policy-heavy stretch: FOMC minutes on Wed, Aug 20, and Chair Powell at Jackson Hole on Fri, Aug 22. Traders want clues on whether a September cut is still in play and how the Fed reads sticky services inflation and cooling growth.
The Fed’s tone shapes borrowing costs for mortgages and businesses—and sets the backdrop for stocks, bonds, and the dollar.
🛒 Retail heavyweights report: Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Walmart
A big retail lineup hits: Home Depot (Tue), Lowe’s (Wed), Target (Wed Aug 20), Walmart (Thu Aug 21). Watch the mix between DIY softness and pro-contractor demand, plus traffic, margins, and shrink.
These names are a front-row seat to consumer health—useful for gauging resilience in housing-linked and staple spending.
🌏 China pledges support for spending and housing
Premier Li Qiang reaffirmed measures to lift consumption and stabilize housing, keeping the ~5% growth aim despite external pressures.
A pro-growth stance from the world’s #2 economy supports commodity demand and gives multinationals a little more breathing room.
🖥️ New US semiconductor tariffs may be coming soon
The administration signaled tariffs on imported semiconductors (and steel) could roll out in coming weeks—starting modestly to nudge on-shoring, then rising later.
Chips sit in everything from cars to phones. Higher import taxes can raise prices, squeeze margins, and reroute supply chains.
⚡ Google picks Tennessee SMR to power AI data centers
Google, TVA, and Kairos Power selected Oak Ridge, TN for a fourth-gen small modular reactor (SMR) targeting 2030 operations under a long-term power deal—aimed at feeding energy-hungry AI data centers.
If successful, nuclear-powered compute could reshape energy costs for tech and shift utility capex toward dependable baseload.