Movers & Shakers: July 29, 2019
Trump blasts Fed again ahead of rate decision, says 'small rate cut is not enough:' All eyes are on the FOMC this week as economists and traders overwhelmingly expect the Fed to cut interest rates by a quarter point for the first time in more than a decade. This would match the size of each of the nine rate hikes the Fed delivered from 2015 to 2018. Even former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says she supports a cut. (Yellen made the pro-cut comments at an event over the weekend.) But the expected hike isn’t getting cheers from President Trump, who tweeted on Monday: “The Fed has made all of the wrong moves. A small rate cut is not enough, but we will win anyway!” Investors will know for sure which way it is going to go when the Fed’s rate-setting committee releases its policy statement at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, after the end of a two-day meeting. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference shortly after.
U.S., China revive trade talks, can a deal be made?: Two months after negotiations broke down, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will hold talks on Tuesday and Wednesday in Shanghai with a delegation led by China's economy czar, Vice Premier Liu He. Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed in June to revive efforts to end the costly fight over China's technology ambitions and trade surplus. The talks resume amid an array of disputes that has grown to include tension over Chinese tech giant Huawei. Some American officials worry the U.S. is losing its lead.
Protesters clash in Hong Kong as cycle of violence intensifies: Two weekend protest events ended in more violent turmoil. On Sunday, hundreds of riot police with shields fired rounds of tear gas, rubber bullets and sponge grenades at protesters, sending clouds of acrid, burning smoke through the streets. Some protesters were on their knees choking as ambulances raced to take away the injured. Beijing is expected to give a formal response to the ongoing protests on Monday.
The Rock Dwayne Johnson says he is not ‘Boris Johnson's cousin,’ was just a joke: Despite having the same last name, Dwayne Johnson and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson are not related after all. The Rock took to Twitter on Monday to make clear to fans that he was just joking when he recently made comments that the UK prime minister was his “cousin.” This comes as Reuters reported on Monday that the British government is working on the assumption that the European Union will not renegotiate its Brexit deal and is ramping up preparations to leave the bloc on Oct. 31.
Disney is 'King' of the box office: Disney’s films collected a record-smashing $7.67 billion in global revenue by Sunday, annihilating the previous industry record – set by itself -- of $7.61 billion 2016. Even before August, Disney-brand titles have crossed $1 billion worldwide and Disney-owned Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame took $2.79 billion, passed Avatar to become the top-grossing film of all time. Marvel’s Captain Marvel released earlier this year left theaters with $1.23 billion. Disney's live-action Aladdin snuck its way into the sultan’s place with $1 billion last week and the star-studded The Lion King remake is leading more than just Africa with a worldwide total of $962.7 million after just two weeks in release. The $7.67 billion number includes $5.09 billion from overseas. This will be the first time any Hollywood studio has surpassed the $5 billion threshold internationally.
US price of gas slips 2 cents per gallon to $2.81: The price is 10 cents lower than what it was a year ago, according to industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey. The average price of diesel is also down 2 cents, to $3.05 per gallon.