With three words — 'the time has come' — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell set markets in motion on Friday, signaling that the long era of elevated interest rates may be drawing to a close. Wall Street responded with the kind of relief that follows prolonged uncertainty: the Dow surged 462 points, and broad indices climbed as traders began calculating not just whether cuts are coming, but how deep they will go. The moment now belongs to the data — particularly the August jobs report — which will help determine whether the Fed moves cautiously or decisively when it convenes in mid-September.
Powell signals rate cuts as Wall Street rallies; Intel seeks activist defense
The moment has arrived to begin lowering rates.
Mark
So Powell basically said rates are coming down. How confident is the market that this actually happens in September?
Mimi
The market is pricing in a quarter-point cut as the baseline for September. But there's real momentum building for a half-point cut if the jobs report comes in weak.
Luke
Right, but that's conditional. We don't have the August jobs data yet. If employment stays strong, does the market still expect the bigger cut?
Mimi
That's the tension. A strong jobs report would probably keep them at a quarter-point. A weak one opens the door to half-point.
Mark
And Powell just said "the time has come"—does that commit the Fed to anything?
Luke
Not really. It signals direction, but it doesn't lock in a number or a date. The Fed still has room to move based on what the data shows.
Mimi
Exactly. Powell's language was carefully chosen. He's saying cuts are coming, but the magnitude and timing depend on what happens between now and mid-September.
Mark
What about Intel? Is the activist threat real or just precautionary?
Mimi
The company is losing ground to Nvidia in AI chips and has been slow to adapt. Activist investors see a company in trouble with a big balance sheet—that's an opportunity.
Luke
But we should note that Intel hasn't actually been targeted by an activist campaign yet. They're preparing defenses before that happens. It's defensive positioning.
Mark
Fair point. And the Starliner situation—how bad is this for Boeing?
Mimi
It's a significant setback. The company has already lost $1.5 billion on the program. Now their crewed spacecraft is sidelined for months while they investigate propulsion problems.
Luke
Though NASA is being careful to frame this as a learning opportunity, not a failure. They're saying they want to understand the root causes before flying crew again.
Mark
That's diplomatic language for "we're not confident yet."
Mimi
Yes. And it extends the timeline for Boeing to prove the Starliner is ready.
O Pulso
- Powell's 'time has come' remark at Jackson Hole acted as a starting gun, sending stocks sharply higher and Treasury yields lower in a single session.
- Traders are no longer debating whether a September rate cut will happen — they are now divided over whether it will be a measured quarter-point or a more aggressive half-point reduction.
- The August employment report has become the fulcrum: if job numbers echo July's softness, pressure mounts for the Fed to move more boldly.
- Beyond rates, Intel is quietly fortifying itself against activist investors while absorbing a brutal restructuring — 15,000 jobs cut, $10 billion in savings targeted — as it scrambles to reclaim relevance in an AI-dominated landscape.
- Boeing's Starliner suffered another blow as NASA chose to return its stranded astronauts via SpaceX rather than risk the troubled spacecraft, deepening the company's commercial crew crisis past $1.5 billion in losses.
- U.S.-China trade tensions sharpened as Washington added 42 Chinese firms to its export control list over alleged ties to Russia's drone supply chain, drawing a sharp rebuke from Beijing.
With three words — 'the time has come' — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell set markets in motion on Friday, signaling that the long era of elevated interest rates may be drawing to a close. Wall Street responded with the kind of relief that follows prolonged uncertainty: the Dow surged 462 points, and broad indices climbed as traders began calculating not just whether cuts are coming, but how deep they will go. The moment now belongs to the data — particularly the August jobs report — which will help determine whether the Fed moves cautiously or decisively when it convenes in mid-September.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled on Friday that interest rate cuts are imminent, and Wall Street wasted no time responding. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 462 points, while the Nasdaq rose 1.47% and the S&P 500 gained 1.15%. For the full week, all three major indices posted gains exceeding 1%. The 10-year Treasury yield fell, and crude oil climbed more than 2%, settling above $74 a barrel.
The market's next question is no longer if the Fed will cut, but by how much. A quarter-point reduction at the September meeting is now widely expected, but a larger half-point cut is gaining traction — particularly if the August jobs report mirrors the weakness seen in July. The Fed's mid-September meeting will be the decisive moment, with incoming employment data likely to tip the scales.
Intel, meanwhile, is preparing for a different kind of pressure. The chipmaker has brought in Morgan Stanley and other advisors to help defend against potential activist investors as it navigates a painful restructuring — eliminating 15,000 jobs and targeting $10 billion in cost cuts. CEO Pat Gelsinger is trying to reverse years of missed opportunities, including the company's failure to capitalize on the smartphone era and, more recently, the artificial intelligence surge that has propelled rivals like Nvidia.
At NASA, Boeing's Starliner will return from the International Space Station without its crew. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched aboard the spacecraft in June, will instead ride home on a SpaceX Dragon capsule — extending their mission by roughly six months. Propulsion problems discovered during the crewed test flight prompted NASA to ground the Starliner until engineers fully understand the failures. The setback adds to Boeing's mounting losses in the commercial crew program, now exceeding $1.5 billion.
On the trade front, the United States added 42 Chinese companies to its export control list, alleging connections to Russia's military supply chain — including firms linked to the production of Shahed-136 drones used in attacks on Ukraine. China's Ministry of Commerce pushed back sharply, calling the move a disruption to international commerce and vowing to protect its companies from the restrictions.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell opened the door to interest rate cuts on Monday, and Wall Street rushed through it. The stock market surged in response to his signal that the moment had arrived to begin lowering rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 462 points. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 each gained more than a percentage point, with the Nasdaq rising 1.47% and the S&P 500 up 1.15%. For the full week, all three indices posted solid gains: the Dow added 1.3%, the Nasdaq 1.4%, and the S&P 500 rose 1.45%. The 10-year Treasury yield fell in response, while crude oil prices jumped more than 2% to settle above $74 a barrel.
Now the market's attention has shifted to the details. Traders are pricing in a quarter-point rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets in September, but expectations are building for something more aggressive—a half-point reduction. That larger cut becomes more likely if the August employment report shows the same weakness that appeared in July's figures. The Fed's mid-September meeting will be the moment when Powell and his colleagues decide how much to cut, and the jobs data arriving before that meeting could tip the scales toward the bigger move.
Elsewhere in the markets, Intel is bracing for a fight. The chip maker has enlisted Morgan Stanley and other financial advisors to prepare defenses against potential activist investors circling the company. Intel is in the midst of a painful restructuring, cutting 15,000 jobs and spending $10 billion on cost reductions as CEO Pat Gelsinger attempts to restore the company's competitive position. The company has stumbled badly in recent years, missing major technological shifts—the rise of smartphones and now the artificial intelligence boom—that rivals like Nvidia have captured. Morgan Stanley has worked with Intel before, including on the spinoff of the company's Mobileye division in 2022.
At NASA, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will return from the International Space Station empty of crew. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched aboard the Starliner in June, will instead return on SpaceX's Dragon capsule, extending their stay on the station by roughly six months. The decision stems from problems that emerged with Starliner's propulsion system during the crewed test flight. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson explained that the agency wants to fully understand what went wrong and ensure design improvements before the Starliner resumes regular crew missions. The setback carries real consequences for Boeing's future with NASA's commercial crew program, which has already cost the company more than $1.5 billion in losses.
International trade tensions flared as China pushed back against new U.S. export controls. The United States added 42 Chinese companies to its export control list, citing alleged connections to the Russian military. The move was part of a broader action that also targeted 63 Russian firms and 18 companies from other nations accused of supplying U.S. electronics to Russian military-linked entities that manufacture Shahed-136 drones for use in attacks on Ukraine. China's Ministry of Commerce issued a statement opposing the decision, arguing it disrupts international commerce and pledging that Beijing would defend the interests of its companies caught in the restrictions.
Citações Notáveis
We want to further understand the root causes and understand the design improvements so that the Boeing Starliner will serve as an important part of our assured crew access to the ISS.— NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
China's Ministry of Commerce said the decision disrupts international trade, pledging that Beijing would protect the rights of Chinese companies.— China's Ministry of Commerce
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