Things haven’t been this tense in the Capitol Hill cafeteria since Eisenhower’s ask.fm leaked. President Trump again floated firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell—but this time, he showed a draft of a termination letter at a meeting with some Republican lawmakers Tuesday night and asked for their thoughts, according to the New York Times.

Yesterday morning, a White House official told news outlets that Trump was likely to fire Powell soon. But the president then denied it, saying that firing Powell would be “highly unlikely,” though he did claim that almost all of the lawmakers in the meeting were cool with it.

The Fed has historically prided itself on being an independent institution in order to make politically unpopular monetary policies that it believes best serve the economy, so, even the idea that Trump could sack Powell has raised economic alarm bells:

• Everyone from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to one of Powell’s harshest critics, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, has spoken up to defend the Fed’s independence.
• Deutsche Bank said in a report this weekend that if Trump were to replace Powell, it could lead to a collapse of the currency and bond markets.

Trump’s been after Powell for awhile…but this is different

Trump originally appointed Powell in 2017, but has publicly criticized and threatened to fire him multiple times over his unwillingness to cut interest rates.

Meanwhile, Powell has said it’d be illegal to fire him.

JPow is technically right…but while members of the Fed can’t be fired over policy disagreements, they can be removed for “cause.” And the Trump administration has recently suggested that it’s found a cause in what it claim is Powell’s mismanagement of the renovation of two Fed buildings. The administration has suggested that the project’s $2.5 billion price tag and budget overruns are excessive, and that Powell misrepresented it in testimony to Congress.

For now…some Trump allies have said that the president is just trolling Powell. The markets seem to think so, too, fluctuating a bit yesterday, but settling down after Trump’s denial.—MM

The president said he’ll send a tariff letter to more than 150 countries. President Trump has already sent out about two dozen letters warning of higher tariff rates slated to take effect Aug. 1 if trading partners (like the EU, Japan, and South Korea) don’t reach new deals with the US, and he said yesterday that he plans to send a single letter to another 150 countries. Trump said the rate would be the same for all those countries, explaining, “They’re not big countries, and they don’t do that much business.” Trump said the tariff rate for those countries hadn’t been determined yet, but that it would probably be 10% or 15%.

Trump criticizes his supporters over “Epstein Hoax.” The Justice Department’s announcement that there is no “client list” to release from the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has rankled members of the president’s base base who expected a bombshell revelation, and yesterday, President Trump expressed frustration on Truth Social with his own supporters for not letting it go. The president posted, “My PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’” calling them “weaklings” who were doing the Democrats’ work for them, and saying “I don’t want their support anymore!” The Epstein case has also reportedly led to a rift within the administration with Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino taking issue with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision not to release more information.

Zuck expected to testify in $8b Facebook privacy trial. A trial kicked off yesterday in Delaware on claims against Meta’s leadership by shareholders stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Meta is not named in the suit—instead, it seeks reimbursement from the company’s leaders for a fine that Meta paid for violating a 2012 agreement with the FTC regarding user privacy. As the trial progresses, it’ll be something of a who’s who in tech: It’s expected to feature testimony not only from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, but also from former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and board members past and present, including Marc Andreessen, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings, according to Reuters. It’s also expected to be a test for how Delaware courts handle claims against company directors since most cases like it get dismissed or settled.—AR

The world’s second-largest bank doomsday preppers with online shops profiting off of panic.

Goldman Sachs reported a backflip-worthy second quarter yesterday, boosted by fees it collected from investors and businesses that rushed to respond to President Trump’s tariff policies.

Revenue reached nearly $14.6 billion in the second quarter, beating Wall Street’s expectations by more than $1 billion, according to Goldman Sachs. The surge is largely because of:

• Frenzied stock trading. Goldman raked in a new Wall Street record of $4.3 billion in trading fees as it helped clients adapt their portfolios to tariff risks.
• A dealmaking rebound. The bank’s revenue from advisory fees spiked 71% on a burst of M&A activity.

Goldman’s earnings leapt 22% from the same period a year ago.

Zoom out: Trading desks are broadly benefiting from this year’s tariff-induced market chaos, with other firms, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley, all enjoying a bump in trading revenue. And while M&As are down overall, demand for high-value deals ($500+ million) is rising as CEO confidence returns and companies seek scale as a shield against market uncertainty, according to the Wall Street Journal.—ML

Pop Mart says its charmingly creepy elves, Labubus, and other dolls are a cash-printing machine. The Chinese tchotchke purveyor estimated this week that its revenue tripled in the first half of 2025 to the same period last year, along with a jump in profit of at least 350%.

But many investors seem not to be buying that the Labubus will have Barbie-like staying power. Pop Mart’s stock dropped 6% yesterday, a day after the rosy earnings forecast.

Cash cow?

Pop Mart says its profits have been juiced by the Labubu IP becoming international cultural currency (even Rihanna was spotted with one) and margin-boosting cost cuts:

• In 2024, the company earned almost 40% of its revenue outside of mainland China.
• This year, Labubu sales in the US—where each doll retails for $27.99 or more—jumped 5,000% from a year earlier.

But trinket fiends loading up on mystery boxes likely isn’t an infinite money glitch, according to Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang, who told CNBC that the popularity of Pop Mart’s wares might have already peaked.

But the little dolls still have something to grin about. Pop Mart is currently worth more than the US toy giants Mattel and Hasbro combined, with its shares up 170% since the start of the year.—SK

He may be CGI, but Superman’s pooch, Krypto, could turn out to be a hero for real dogs. It appears that James Gunn’s DC-reviving hit got audiences excited about truth, justice, and adopt don’t shop, as Google search data analyzed by dog training app Woofz found queries about dog adoption spiking following the new film’s release:

• After a premiere weekend during which Superman raked in $217 million globally, searches for “adopt a dog near me” leapt up 513%, while “rescue dog adoption near me” searches jumped by 163%, and searches for “adopt a puppy” went up 31%.
• Some moviegoers seemed interested in a pup who bears a resemblance to the fictional mutt since searches for “adopt a schnauzer” rose by 299%.

Krypto the Superdog has his origins in the comics, but the version featured in the movie was based on Ozu, a dog Gunn rescued while writing the flick, according to The Wrap. And while no canines were harmed in the making of the film (despite Krypto’s valor in battle), Warner Bros. Discovery did use the occasion to help some. In the lead-up to the film’s opening, the studio covered adoption fees at Best Friends Animal Society’s shelters for ten days, with 454 pets finding homes.—AR