Finance

President Donald Trump on Thursday again called for the Federal Reserve to lower rates and even hinted at the “termination” of Chair Jerome Powell.
His post on Truth Social comes a day after Powell delivered a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago in which he noted that the administration’s tariffs put the central bank in a tricky spot as it decides whether to tame inflation or boost growth.
This is not the first time Trump has criticized Powell’s approach to U.S. monetary policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Win McNamee | Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

President Donald Trump on Thursday again called for the Federal Reserve to lower rates and even hinted at the “termination” of Chair Jerome Powell.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said:

“The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’ Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

Indeed, the European Central Bank has been cutting rates as it tries to boost growth in the region. The ECB is expected to lower rates again later on Thursday.
The post comes a day after Powell delivered a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago in which he noted that the administration’s tariffs put the central bank in a tricky spot as it decides whether to tame inflation or boost growth.

“If that were to occur, we would consider how far the economy is from each goal, and the potentially different time horizons over which those respective gaps would be anticipated to close,” Powell said. Those comments contributed to a steep sell-off on Wednesday.
This is not the first time Trump has criticized Powell’s approach to U.S. monetary policy. Trump posted on April 4, two days after the administration’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, that it would be “a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates. He is always ‘late,’ but he could now change his image, and quickly.”
However, it is the first time Trump has explicitly called for Powell’s firing. Powell has said the president does not have the power to fire him, noting that it is “not permitted under the law.”
Powell’s term as Fed chair ends in May 2026.

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UBS had a market cap of 79.5 Swiss francs ($97.23 billion) as of the Wednesday close, according to FactSet data, with Banco Santander at 91.3 billion euros ($103.78 billion).
Santander and UBS’ shares have diverged over recent months, with the Swiss lender shedding 17.2% in the year to date, while Santander has gained nearly 35%.
Both banks have suffered since the imposition of the White House’s protectionist trade policies, given the shrinking growth outlook for tariff-struck European countries and the prospect of a U.S. recession.

A Santander office building in London.
Luke MacGregor | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Spanish lender Banco Santander has eclipsed Swiss giant UBS as continental Europe’s largest bank by market capitalization, as U.S. tariffs ripple through the region’s bruised banking sector.
UBS — whose share took a deep tumble after the April 2 announcement of U.S. President Donald Trump’s baseline and reciprocal duties on Washington’s trade counterparties — had a market cap of 79.5 Swiss francs ($97.23 billion) as of the Wednesday close, according to FactSet data, with Banco Santander at 91.3 billion euros ($103.78 billion).

The two banks’ shares have diverged over recent months, with the Swiss lender shedding 17.2% in the year to date, while Banco Santander has gained nearly 35%, according to LSEG data.
Both banks, along with Europe’s broader banking sector, have suffered since the imposition of the White House’s protectionist trade policies, given the shrinking growth outlook for tariff-struck European countries and the prospect of a recession in the U.S.
Washington imposed 20% tariffs on imports from the European Union, but has lowered them to 10% under a 90-day pause announced by Trump on April 9.
Switzerland — which is not a member of the EU — faces a steeper 31% levy after the pause lifts and the Trump administration has also threatened additional duties on imported drugs. This could deliver a blow to the Swiss pharmaceutical industry that “grew robustly” in the fourth quarter and “contributed significantly” to the country’s exports over the period.
More broadly, European Union banks received a boost from the announcement of the European Union’s ReArm initiative in March, which is set to loosen regional fiscal rules and trigger further borrowing activity to boost defense spending.

U.S. exposure

Continental Europe’s two largest lenders have very different exposures to the U.S. market.
Banco Santander is the fifth-largest auto lender in the country and is expanding through a recent partnership with telecom giant Verizon. Nevertheless, it only logged around 9% of its total profits for 2024 Stateside.

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European banks

The U.S. is, meanwhile, a key market for UBS’ lucrative core global wealth management division, with roughly half of the Swiss lender’s invested assets concentrated in the broader Americas region last year, according to its annual report.
UBS’ outlook has also been clouded by a shroud of uncertainty surrounding potential new — and steeper — capital requirements from Swiss authorities. This follows its expansion in the wake of absorbing collapsed domestic peer Credit Suisse, from which it also inherited a significant U.S. presence. The lender expects to receive further clarity on these guidelines next month.  
UBS’ profitability could also be impacted by a strong Swiss franc — historically a safe haven asset during market turmoil — which has appreciated by roughly 8% against the U.S. dollar since the imposition of the latest tariffs.
Switzerland’s appreciating currency — whose strength local trade groups had flagged as damaging to exports even before tariffs came into effect — could, along with depressed inflation in the country, see the Swiss National Bank make further defensive cuts to interest rates, which were already reduced to just 0.25% in March.
In comparison, the European Central Bank is also widely expected to trim its key deposit facility rate by a quarter point when it meets later on Thursday, although this will take it to 2.25%.
The potential interest rate cut would take place after the ECB said in March that its monetary policy was “becoming meaningfully less restrictive” — in a signal some analysts interpreted as indicating restraint when it comes to lowering rates further.
Declines in national interest rates typically weigh on local lenders’ net interest income revenues from loans. More

“Fast Money” trader Tim Seymour wants to help investors avoid common money traps that could leave them exposed to losses, particularly in a volatile market.
He is out with a shortlist of four tips to deliver some peace of mind when things are going south.

Tip No. 1: Don’t have more money in the market than you can stomach.
Whether it is margin calls or anxiety about losing money you can’t afford to lose, bad decisions are often made during desperation.
Tip No. 2: Don’t hope that you get back to breakeven.
If you’re only holding a long position because you don’t want to lose money on the trade, you risk losing more.
Bottom line: Own a stock based on merit, not hope.

Tip No. 3: Don’t assume yesterday’s investment rationale will work tomorrow.
Ask yourself, “Has something changed in the fundamental case or is it a case of market volatility?” If something changed, make adjustments.
Tip No. 4: Don’t cut your flowers and keep your weeds.
Often, the highest quality companies will outperform in a down market. Bad position? Circle back to No. 2.

To get more personalized investment strategies, join us for our next “Fast Money” Live event on Thursday, June 5, at the Nasdaq in Times Square.

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Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Capital Management CEO, speaking at the Delivering Alpha conference in NYC on Sept. 28th, 2023.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square took a sizable stake in Hertz, the rental-car company that exited from bankruptcy four years ago, sparking a big rally.
Shares of Hertz surged 56% on Wednesday after a regulatory filing revealed Pershing Square had built a 4.1% position as of the end of 2024. Pershing has significantly increased the position — to 19.8% — through shares and swaps, becoming Hertz’ second largest shareholder, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC’s Scott Wapner.

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The person said Ackman’s investment firm received an exemption from the SEC to delay the filing of the position until Wednesday, which allowed it to accumulate substantially more shares.
Hertz has been a troubled company for much of the past decade, including bankruptcy during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Following its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021, the company bet heavy on all-electric vehicles, specifically Teslas, which cost the company billions following a significant decline in their residual values.
When reporting its 2024 fourth-quarter earnings in February, it revealed a $2.9 billion loss for the year, which included a $245 million loss on the sale of EVs during the fourth quarter. More

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank could find itself in a dilemma between controlling inflation and supporting economic growth.
“If that were to occur, we would consider how far the economy is from each goal, and the potentially different time horizons over which those respective gaps would be anticipated to close,” he said for a speech in Chicago.
Powell gave no indication on where he sees interest rates headed, but noted that, “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance.”

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a press conference after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC on March 19, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt | AFP | Getty Images

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed concern in a speech Wednesday that the central bank could find itself in a dilemma between controlling inflation and supporting economic growth.
With uncertainty elevated over what impact President Donald Trump’s tariffs will have, the central bank leader said that while he expects higher inflation and lower growth, it’s unclear where the Fed will need to devote greater focus.

“We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension,” Powell said in prepared remarks before the Economic Club of Chicago. “If that were to occur, we would consider how far the economy is from each goal, and the potentially different time horizons over which those respective gaps would be anticipated to close.”
The Fed is tasked with ensuring stable prices and full employment, and economists including those at the Fed see threats to both from the levies. Tariffs essentially act as a tax on imports, though their direct link to inflation historically has been spotty.
In a question-and-answer session after his speech, Powell said tariffs are “likely to move us further away from our goals … probably for the balance of this year.”
Powell gave no indication on where he sees interest rates headed, but noted that, “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance.”
Stocks hit session lows as Powell spoke while Treasury yields turned lower.

In the case of higher inflation, the Fed would keep interest rates steady or even increase them to dampen demand. In the case of slower growth, the Fed might be persuaded to lower interest rates. Powell emphasized the importance to keeping inflation expectations in check.
Markets expect the Fed to start reducing rates again in June and to enact three or four quarter percentage point cuts by the end of 2025, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch gauge.
Fed officials generally consider tariffs to be a one-time hit to prices, but the expansive nature of the Trump duties could alter that trend.
Powell noted that survey- and market-based measures of near-term inflation are on the rise, though the longer-term outlook remains close to the Fed’s 2% goal. The Fed’s key inflation measure is expected to show a rate of 2.6% for March, he said.
“Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation,” said Powell. “The inflationary effects could also be more persistent. Avoiding that outcome will depend on the size of the effects, on how long it takes for them to pass through fully to prices, and, ultimately, on keeping longer-term inflation expectations well anchored.”
The speech was largely similar to one he delivered earlier this month in Virginia, and in some passages verbatim.
Powell noted the threats to growth as well as inflation.
Gross domestic product for the first quarter, which will be reported later this month, is expected to show little growth in the U.S. economy for the January-through-March period.
Indeed, Powell noted: “The data in hand so far suggest that growth has slowed in the first quarter from last year’s solid pace. Despite strong motor vehicle sales, overall consumer spending appears to have grown modestly. In addition, strong imports during the first quarter, reflecting attempts by businesses to get ahead of potential tariffs, are expected to weigh on GDP growth.”
Earlier in the day, the Commerce Department reported that retail sales increased a better-than-expected 1.4% in March. The report showed that a large portion of the growth came from car buyers looking to make purchases ahead of the tariffs, though multiple other sectors showed solid gains as well.
Following the report, the Atlanta Fed said it sees GDP growing at a -0.1% pace in Q1 when adjusting for an unusual rise in gold imports and exports. Powell described the economy as being in a “solid position” even with the expected slowdown in growth.
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Retirees may feel they’re protecting their nest eggs by getting out of stocks entirely.
However, by doing so they’d increase their risk of outliving their savings during retirement, which may last decades, experts said.

Lordhenrivoton | E+ | Getty Images

Retirees may think moving all their investments to cash and bonds — and out of stocks — protects their nest egg from risk.
They would be wrong, experts say.

Most, if not all, retirees need stocks — the growth engine of an investment portfolio — to ensure they don’t run out of money during a retirement that might last decades, experts said.
“It’s important for retirees to have some equities in their portfolio to increase the long-term returns,” said David Blanchett, head of retirement research for PGIM, an investment management arm of Prudential Financial.

Longevity is biggest financial risk

Longevity risk — the risk of outliving one’s savings — is the biggest financial danger for retirees, Blanchett said.
The average life span has increased from about 68 years in 1950 to to 78.4 in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What’s more, the number of 100-year-olds in the U.S. is expected to quadruple over the next three decades, according to Pew Research Center.
Retirees may feel that shifting out of stocks — especially during bouts of volatility like the recent tariff-induced selloff — insulates their portfolio from risk.

They would be correct in one sense: cash and bonds are generally less volatile than stocks and therefore buffer retirees from short-term gyrations in the stock market.
Indeed, finance experts recommend dialing back stock exposure over time and boosting allocations to bonds and cash. The thinking is that investors don’t want to subject a huge chunk of their portfolio to steep losses if they need to access those funds in the short term.
Dialing back too much from stocks, however, poses a risk, too, experts said.
More from Personal Finance:Cash may feel safe when stocks slide, but has risksHow a trade war could impact the price of clothingIs now a good time to buy gold?
Retirees who pare their stock exposure back too much may have a harder time keeping up with inflation and they raise the risk of outliving their savings, Blanchett said.
Stocks have had a historical return of about 10% per year, outperforming bonds by about five percentage points, Blanchett said. Of course, this means that over the long term, investing in stocks has yielded higher returns compared to investing in bonds. 
“Retirement can last up to three decades or more, meaning your portfolio will still need to grow in order to support you,” wrote Judith Ward and Roger Young, certified financial planners at T. Rowe Price, an asset manager.

What’s a good stock allocation for retirees?

So, what’s a good number?
One rule of thumb is for investors to subtract their age from 110 or 120 to determine the percentage of their portfolio they should allocate to stocks, Blanchett said.
For example, a roughly 50/50 allocation to stocks and bonds would be a reasonable starting point for the typical 65-year-old, he said.

An investor in their 60s might hold 45% to 65% of their portfolio in stocks; 30% to 50% in bonds; and 0% to 10% in cash, Ward and Young of T. Rowe Price wrote.
Someone in their 70s and older might have 30% to 50% in stocks; 40% to 60% in bonds; and 0% to 20% in cash, they said.

Why your stock allocation may differ

However, every investor is different, Blanchett said. They have different abilities to take risk, he said.
For example, investors who’ve saved too much money, or can fund their lifestyles with guaranteed income like pensions and Social Security — can choose to take less risk with their investment portfolios because they don’t need the long-term investment growth, Blanchett said.

The less important consideration for investors is risk “appetite,” he said.
This is essentially their stomach for risk. A retiree who knows they’ll panic in a downturn should probably not have more than 50% to 60% in stocks, Blanchett said.
The more comfortable with volatility and the better-funded a retiree is, the more aggressive they can be, Blanchett said.

Other key considerations

There are a few other important considerations for retirees, experts said.

Diversification. Investing in “stocks” doesn’t mean putting all of one’s money in an individual stock like Nvidia or a few technology stocks, Blanchett said. Instead, investors would be well-suited by putting their money in a total market index fund that tracks the broad stock market, he said.

Bucketing. Retirees can do lasting damage to the longevity of their portfolio if they pull money from stocks that are declining in value, experts said. This risk is especially high in the first few years of retirement. It’s important for retirees to have separate buckets of bonds and cash they can pull from to get them through that time period as stocks recover. More

Wall Street banks just posted their biggest-ever haul from stock trading as the opening months of President Donald Trump’s tenure led to upheaval across asset classes.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America each notched record equities trading revenue in the first quarter.
When including Citigroup and Wells Fargo, the six largest U.S. banks put up $16.3 billion in stock trading in the quarter, 33% more than a year earlier.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 14, 2025. 
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Wall Street banks just posted their biggest-ever haul from stock trading as the opening months of President Donald Trump’s tenure led to upheavals across asset classes — and the need for institutional investors around the world to position themselves for a new regime.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America each notched record equities trading revenue in the first quarter, with the first three producing roughly $4 billion in revenue apiece.

When including Citigroup and Wells Fargo, the six largest U.S. banks put up $16.3 billion in stock trading in the quarter, 33% more than a year earlier and higher than in previous periods of tumult, like the 2020 coronavirus pandemic or the 2008 global financial crisis.
The performance, which helped every bank except Wells Fargo beat expectations for the quarter, was deemed “spectacular,” “extraordinary” and “awesome” by analysts in conference calls over the past week.
It’s a twist on the anticipated Trump boom for Wall Street.
Trump’s second time in office was supposed to be good for Wall Street’s dealmakers, the investment bankers handling billion-dollar acquisitions and high-profile IPO listings. Instead, deal activity has remained tepid, and the biggest beneficiaries so far have been sitting on bank’s trading floors.
While equities traders put up the biggest gains during the first quarter, according to their earnings releases, fixed income personnel also saw higher revenue on rising activity in currencies, commodities and bond markets.

“So long as the volatility continues — and there’s no reason to believe it’s going to stop anytime soon — equities trading desks should remain plenty busy,” James Shanahan, a bank analyst at Edward Jones, said in a phone interview.

While investment banking has remained muted as corporate leaders put off making strategic decisions amid ongoing uncertainty, professional investors have “a lot to play for” as they seek to rack up gains, Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick said Friday.  
Booming trading results will help big banks as they set aside potentially billions of dollars for soured loans as the economy weakens further, Shanahan said. JPMorgan executives said Friday that their models assume U.S. unemployment will rise to 5.8% later this year. Unemployment stood at 4.2% in March, according to data from the Labor Department.
The environment leaves regional banks, which mostly lack sizeable trading operations, in a “tough spot” amid stagnant loan growth and elevated borrower defaults, Shanahan added.

‘Significant moves’

The first quarter is typically a busy one for trading as investors at hedge funds, pensions and other active managers start their performance cycles anew.
That was especially true this year; hours after his January swearing-in ceremony, Trump said he would soon implement tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. The next month, he began escalating trade tensions with China, while also targeting specific industries and products like automobiles and steel.
The dynamic — in which Trump introduced, and then scaled back sweeping tariffs with profound implications for American businesses — reached a fever pitch in early April, around his so-called Liberation Day announcements. That’s when markets began making historic moves, as both equities and government bonds whipsawed amid the chaos.
The heightened activity levels could mean that the second quarter is even more profitable for Wall Street’s giants than the first.
“We obviously saw significant moves in equity markets as people positioned for a different kind of trade policy during March” that led to “higher activity for us in a variety of ways,” Goldman CEO David Solomon told analysts on Monday.
So far in the second quarter, “the business is performing very well and clients are very active” Solomon said.
Wall Street has evolved since the 2008 financial crisis, which consolidated trading and investment banking among fewer, larger firms after Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns were wiped out.
Led by folks including Morgan Stanley’s Pick — who is credited with overhauling the firm’s fixed income business and taking its equities franchise to new heights before he became CEO last year — Wall Street’s dominant trading desks are providing ever-faster execution and larger credit lines to professional investors all over the world.
Rather than wagering house money on bets, they have leaned more to facilitating trades and providing leverage for clients, meaning they profit from activity, whether markets go up or down.
“We’ve been working with clients nonstop,” Pick said Friday. “For all of the concerns about what could come down the road in the real economy, the market-making and the ability to transact to clients as they up and down their leverage levels has been very orderly.”

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