AFN
NEWS
Thursday, August 1, 2019
1) From ABC News, I’m Daria Albinger. The Dow suffered its worst
day since May 31st, losing 334 points despite the Federal Reserve cutting the
key interest rate a quarter of a percent. The loss started after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell repeated a pledge to act
as appropriate as possible to sustain economic expansion. “The economy has
actually performed just about as expected with that gradually increasing
support, and I think I wouldn’t take credit for all of that, but I do think
that increasing policy support has kept the economy on track and kept the
outlook.” The S&P also dropped 33 points, the NASDAQ slid 98. President
Trump reacting to the rate cut. “Fed Chairman saying this rate cut does not
necessarily signal more to come. ‘I don’t know whether that will happen,’ which
angered President Trump who tweeted Fed Chair Jerome Powell quote ‘Let us down
with that statement.’ Mr. Trump saying, ‘We are winning anyway, but I’m certainly
not getting much help from the Federal Reserve.’ Andy Field, ABC News, Washington.”
2)
Two U.S. officials tell ABC News that Hamza bin
Laden, son of al-Qaeda leader Osama
bin Laden, is believed to be dead. It’s unclear when and where he died but a
U.S. military source tells ABC News the government believes he was killed
within the last two years. U.S. intelligence played a role in the operation that
killed the younger bin Laden. The sources are declining to elaborate.
3)
Police in Canada are scaling back the search in a remote area of Manitoba for the two teens accused of
murdering three people. “We have not had any confirmed sightings of the
suspects since the burnt vehicle was located, and taking into account all of the
work so far, it’s come time to re-assess our deployment of resources to the area.”
Jane MacLatchy, the assistant
commissioner for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police says they aren’t ending the
search, just scaling back.
4)
The Senate confirms Kelly Craft as U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, ending a seven-month long vacancy in the
post. You’re listening to ABC News.
…………………………………………..
From
the Fox Business Network; the Central Bank cutting its key interest rates for
the first time in a decade by a quarter percentage point to a range of 2 - 2.25%.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell, “The outlook for the U.S. economy remains favorable,
and this action is designed to support that outlook.” It’s the first rate cut
since December of 2008 during the depths of the Great Recession. While the Fed
left open the door for the Central Bank to cut rates again, Powell suggested that
this cut wasn’t the beginning of a long easing cycle and investors are not
liking that news. With the major averages falling sharply, the Dow declining
334 points, the NASDAQ down 98, S&P 500 down 33. // And the family behind Nordstrom looking to strengthen its
grip on the department-store chain following a decline in its stock. The Wall
Street Journal is reporting that members of the founding Nordstrom family are in
the early stages of discussing a proposal to boost their roughly 1/3 stake to
over 50%. With the Fox Business Report, I’m Hilarie Barsky.
