As investors get ready for the end-of-summer Labor Day holiday, it's a good time to ask what to expect from markets when autumn leaves start falling.

On the day technology darling Nvidia reports earnings, it's clear President Donald Trump has taken a leaf out of the playbooks of tech tycoons Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg -- move fast and break things.

Trump is ripping up the post-World War II manual on how the economy should work -- and it turns out tariffs were just the prelude. The most recent attack on the Federal Reserve is but one episode in a long series -- no matter the outcome, the central bank is clearly less independent than it used to be.

Tariffs, it's clear, aren't really trade policy, as shown by the latest 50% rate on India in retaliation for buying Russian oil. The U.S. is taking a stake in chip maker Intel, and may look at defense contractors next. Trump is able to arbitrarily shut down whole industries such as wind power, while giving a huge boost to cryptocurrencies. Even the president's offhand thoughts on a logo were enough to change restaurant chain Cracker Barrel's strategy and send its stock higher.

It's not just the attempt to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook that's unprecedented, it's everything. Some say the U.S. is like an emerging market now, others may call it the ideological triumph of China's centralized economic model over the Western one.

If the question is what all this means for stocks, the answer as always is that no one knows. With artificial intelligence booming it's feasible, even likely, that they continue to rise for months or years to come. But don't forget that it's Trump's stock market now. To live in it, investors will have to go back to school.

-- Brian Swint

***

Trump Escalates Fed Fight. It's a Challenge to Independence.

President Donald Trump's move to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook could ignite a constitutional clash. He is already signaling a move to consolidate control over the independent Fed, telling a roomful of people at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that he would soon have a majority on the board.

   -- With that majority in place, the Fed could presumably work at Trump's 
      behest. Currently his wish is for lower interest rates, citing high 
      mortgage rates, but Fed officials have held off on cuts. "We'll have a 
      majority very shortly," Trump said during a televised cabinet meeting. 
      "So that'll be great." 
 
   -- Mortgage rates are not controlled or set by the Fed, although its 
      benchmark interest rate can indirectly influence them. The comments come 
      after Trump abruptly announced the removal of Cook from the board. Cook 
      said she wasn't resigning, saying there's no cause under the law for her 
      removal. 
 
   -- Cook's attorney, Abbe David Lowell, founder of Lowell & Associates, said 
      Tuesday that Trump has no authority to remove her. "His attempt to fire 
      her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis. 
      We will be filing a lawsuit challenging this illegal action." Trump said 
      Tuesday he was ready for a legal fight. 
 
   -- A Fed spokesperson said it would abide by any court decision on the issue, 
      and so did Trump. If the courts ultimately uphold Trump's move, he would 
      have three seats to fill by May on the seven-member board. Two current 
      governors voted in favor of a rate cut in July. 

What's Next: There's a broader issue at play. Fed governors have the authority to approve or veto the reappointment of the 12 regional Fed presidents, who are up for renewal in February. Historically, it's a routine process. But Strategas Research notes the governors technically can reject or even remove presidents "at will."

-- Nicole Goodkind

***

After Intel, Commerce's Lutnick Hints Defense Contractors Could Be Next

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the federal government is weighing taking stakes in American defense contractors after its 10% stake in Intel. Such a move would be unprecedented, but Lutnick told CNBC that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is "thinking about it."

   -- Analysts called it an interesting case study for an industry that doesn't 
      need capital and isn't in distress. The government has in the past taken 
      stakes in troubled companies, such as a financial crisis-era stake in 
      General Motors. But defense companies are buying back stock with excess 
      capital. 
 
   -- Vertical Research Partners analyst Rob Stallard noted that there are no 
      details of what a deal would look like, but not paying for a stake would 
      contradict the government's efforts to bring new entrants such as SpaceX 
      and Palantir into the fold. 
 
   -- Lutnick cited government work by Lockheed Martin, which gets about 70% of 
      its revenue from federal contracts. Lockheed said it is continuing its 
      strong working relationship with the administration to "strengthen our 
      national defense." 
 
   -- A company like Boeing could use an equity investment from the government 
      to pay off debt, notes Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu in a Tuesday 
      note. But that doesn't seem necessary. Boeing raised $24 billion in an 
      equity offering last October that put it on firmer ground. 

What's Next: Kahyaoglu also said government stakes could create an appearance of conflict of interest. "We can only imagine the first protest of an award that goes to a prime [contractor] that the government has an equity stake in over a non-government prime."

-- Al Root and Janet H. Cho

***

Apple's Product Event Next Week Could Highlight AI, New iPhone

Apple teased a product event for Sept. 9, and investors immediately set their sights on an iPhone 17 plus updates on the device-maker's artificial intelligence efforts. CEO Tim Cook hyped the "awe dropping" event in a social media post. But AI news could be disappointing.

   -- Already, Apple's AI software rollout has been slow to catch investor 
      enthusiasm. iPhone users are impatient for an updated Siri chatbot. Apple 
      has said it expects to launch a more personalized Siri next year. 
 
   -- Bloomberg has reported that Apple approached Alphabet's Google Gemini to 
      explore building a custom AI model to be the foundation of the new Siri. 
      Richard Windsor, founder of Radio Free Mobile, said working with Google 
      to revamp Siri could erode Apple's brand image and data security 
      emphasis. 
 
   -- Apple's rigorous privacy policies, a key differentiating factor for its 
      brand, are now making it difficult to train large-language models, which 
      process large swaths of data. If Apple keeps Siri as is, it keeps its 
      brand value but would not be able to compete with Google's Android phones, 
      Windsor said. 
 
   -- Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes isn't as worried about Apple's AI 
      standing. "Luckily for Apple, its iPhone base doesn't seem to care about 
      the Siri/AI delays, and we see no evidence of real switching," he wrote 
      earlier this month, MarketWatch reported. 

What's Next: Windsor said the best path forward for Apple to preserve data privacy and enhance its AI capabilities would be to pursue an acquisition of an existing AI platform. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Apple was holding internal talks to purchase the AI start-up Perplexity.

-- Angela Palumbo and Janet H. Cho

***

Fox's Dispute With YouTube Highlights TV's Evolution

The television drama is heating up both on and off the screen after Alphabet's YouTube said it may be forced to remove Fox channels from its subscription-based live TV streaming platform if it can't reach an agreement with Fox by the end of today.

   -- YouTube said Fox is asking for payments that are much higher than what 
      other companies with comparable content are getting. A new agreement 
      needs to be hammered out by 5 p.m. Eastern time or YouTube will remove 
      Fox Sports, Business, and News. 
 
   -- Fox says it's committed to reaching a fair agreement but it was 
      disappointed that Google was exploiting its outsize influence "by 
      proposing terms that are out of step with the marketplace." Fox and News 
      Corp, the parent company of Barron's publisher Dow Jones, share common 
      ownership. 
 
   -- The fight comes at a crucial time. Fox's Fox One and Walt Disney's ESPN 
      streaming platforms launched last week, joining a crowded field of 
      streaming options. Live sports events are key to building a subscription 
      base, something media companies have in mind with the start of the NFL 
      season next week. 
 
   -- In local coverage, Nexstar Media Group, owner of NewsNation, recently 
      agreed to buy Tegna for $6.2 billion. But regulatory scrutiny could 
      follow. The Federal Communications Commission has strict rules preventing 
      broadcasters from reaching more than 39% of U.S. TV households. Tegna 
      would boost Nexstar to 80%. 

What's Next: The companies believe they will get the necessary government approvals. New Street Research analyst Blair Levin said the FCC was considering raising that national cap, justifying it by pointing to changes in the video market. The FCC's next open meeting is Sept. 30.

-- Angela Palumbo

***

Cracker Barrel Drops New Logo After Pressure From President

Cracker Barrel's beloved "old timer" is coming back. The homestyle restaurant chain scrapped its new logo Tuesday following pressure from President Donald Trump and an outcry on social media.

   -- "Our new logo is going away and our 'Old Timer' will remain," the company 
      said. The "old timer" is founder Dan Evins' Uncle Herschel, a man in 
      overalls leaning on a barrel who had appeared on the logo since 1977. 
 
   -- The about-turn comes just hours after Trump weighed in on the disastrous 
      rebrand. "Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake 
      based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company 
      better than ever before," the president wrote on his Truth Social 
      platform. 
 
   -- Cracker Barrel unveiled the new logo, which it said was "rooted even more 
      closely to the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all," on 
      Aug. 19. The removal of Uncle Herschel sparked a loud backlash from 
      conservatives including Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son with 
      threats to boycott the chain because of what some termed a "woke" move. 
 
   -- The move sparked a sharp selloff in Cracker Barrel stock. Brand experts 
      compared the controversy with the uproar after Bud Light linked with 
      transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney in 2023 to promote it, 
      which prompted some to boycott the product and subsequently knocked it 
      off the top spot as the biggest-selling beer in the U.S. 

What's Next: Over the next weeks and months it will become clear if the brand has sustained any permanent damage, but Trump appeared happy to forgive and forget the decision. "All of your fans very much appreciate it. Good luck into the future," he said on his social media account.

-- Janet H. Cho, Liz Moyer, and George Glover

***

Dear Quentin,

I am 75 and retired with $1 million in investments and $400,000 in savings and CDs. I get $1,320 a month in Social Security and a small pension from my former employer. I also have no debt and have a long-term-care policy. My partner, 74, does not have a policy and is still working. He will get 80% of his salary when he retires. Our car is paid off.

Our adjusted gross income was $160,000 last year. We both also have fairly good health insurance. We don't have a mortgage, but we pay $1,750 a month for an apartment. Do we have to worry about running out of money once he retires?

-- Wondering

Read the Moneyist's response here.

-- Quentin Fottrell

***

-- Newsletter edited by Liz Moyer, Patrick O'Donnell, Rupert Steiner

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 27, 2025 06:33 ET (10:33 GMT)

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