Some Uneasiness

Earnings commentary last week felt a little less rosy than other recent weeks

Succinct Summary: Commentary last week felt a little less rosy than other recent weeks. The Fed's restrictive monetary policy has kept many sectors in near recession condition for almost three years. This doesn't apply to the tech sector, though, which is almost euphoric about AI and preparing to commit trillions of dollars to infrastructure buildout.

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Macro

There's pockets of concern about the macro environment

"We are not factoring in a meaningful rebound in consumer demand, which we believe is a prudent approach given the current macroeconomic environment and ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs and their potential impact on customers and end consumers." — Amcor PLC (AMCR 0.00%↑) CFO Michael Casamento

Labor markets aren't as strong as they were
"Over the past 3 years, U.S. employers have persistently decreased hiring and the currently employed have switched jobs less often...That is not to say that the labor market is rebounding, that is to say that it is stabilizing." — ZipRecruiter (ZIP 0.00%↑ ) CEO Ian Siegel

The Trump administration wants a big rate cut
"The reason that the Jay Powell gets a nickname 'too late' is because he wants to go into a series of rate hikes. He's not willing—he's not Alan Greenspan who is very forward thinking. They try to be more data-driven, which I think is a mistake because I think we are going back into an economy like we had in the '90s. So it's just very old fashioned thinking. But I do think we could go into a series of rate cuts here, starting with a 50 basis point rate cut in September." — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

They probably won't get one
“Fifty sounds, to me, like we see an urgent—I’m worried it would send off an urgency signal that I don’t feel about the strength of the labor market. I just don’t see that. I don't see the need to catch up.” — San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly

International