E.J. Antoni

Well, at the end of the day, markets really hate uncertainty, full stop. Even if you're going to get bad news, if it's at least certain. You can prepare, you can plan, whether on the consumer side or the firm side. It doesn't matter. So the real problem has been the uncertainty. The market doesn't really like Jerome Powell, but the idea of removing him creates a tremendous amount of uncertainty.

And that's the last thing markets need right now on top of the uncertainty they already have. And so once Trump dropped the rhetoric about removing Powell, the Dow rallied.

And that's the last thing markets need right now on top of the uncertainty they already have. And so once Trump dropped the rhetoric about removing Powell, the Dow rallied.

Well, unfortunately, the Fed really has just been putting politics before policy. They talk about how they're data dependent. As far as I can tell, the only data they're really paying attention to is whether the president is a Republican or a Democrat.

Well, unfortunately, the Fed really has just been putting politics before policy. They talk about how they're data dependent. As far as I can tell, the only data they're really paying attention to is whether the president is a Republican or a Democrat.

When the Fed cut interest rates last year, again, right around the election, we saw 100 basis points of cuts, and then the yield on treasuries moved exactly the opposite direction. It went up 100 basis points. So as markets increasingly don't believe the Fed... whether that's looking at inflation predictions or employment predictions, what the Fed does is mattering less and less.

When the Fed cut interest rates last year, again, right around the election, we saw 100 basis points of cuts, and then the yield on treasuries moved exactly the opposite direction. It went up 100 basis points. So as markets increasingly don't believe the Fed... whether that's looking at inflation predictions or employment predictions, what the Fed does is mattering less and less.

And so markets, I think, are much more today focused on what's happening with tariffs, what's happening with the tax cut package. Is that actually going to get across the finish line? Because don't forget, that's 10 times the size of the tariffs if we're looking at impact on the consumer. So there's a whole lot up in the air right now.

And so markets, I think, are much more today focused on what's happening with tariffs, what's happening with the tax cut package. Is that actually going to get across the finish line? Because don't forget, that's 10 times the size of the tariffs if we're looking at impact on the consumer. So there's a whole lot up in the air right now.

And although the Fed is one of those balls being juggled by the market at It's not the only thing, and I would say it's not even the biggest.

And although the Fed is one of those balls being juggled by the market at It's not the only thing, and I would say it's not even the biggest.

Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.

Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.

Well, Andrew, thanks for having me. Unfortunately, a lot that we have to go on right now is really just rumor, and that's why there's so much volatility in the marketplace. Now, there are a few things that we know for sure, right? Like you mentioned Benjamin Netanyahu being in town. That's something we can definitively say is the case. But as far as nations being at the negotiating table,

Well, Andrew, thanks for having me. Unfortunately, a lot that we have to go on right now is really just rumor, and that's why there's so much volatility in the marketplace. Now, there are a few things that we know for sure, right? Like you mentioned Benjamin Netanyahu being in town. That's something we can definitively say is the case. But as far as nations being at the negotiating table,

Again, there's rumors that there's a lot more. There's rumors that there's a lot less. We have heard some EU officials go on the record saying that they are willing on certain things to go to zero tariffs if the US does as well. So again, there is definitely some good progress here. But overall, there's a lot of rumor, which means there's a lot of volatility. Another thing that we know for sure

Again, there's rumors that there's a lot more. There's rumors that there's a lot less. We have heard some EU officials go on the record saying that they are willing on certain things to go to zero tariffs if the US does as well. So again, there is definitely some good progress here. But overall, there's a lot of rumor, which means there's a lot of volatility. Another thing that we know for sure

was that because there were so many short positions on wall street as soon as we saw a little bit of an uptick today in stocks there was a rush to cover in other words people were starting to uh to buy stocks for fear that if the price went up they'd have to buy them at a an even higher price now normally stock prices going up would be a good thing but

was that because there were so many short positions on wall street as soon as we saw a little bit of an uptick today in stocks there was a rush to cover in other words people were starting to uh to buy stocks for fear that if the price went up they'd have to buy them at a an even higher price now normally stock prices going up would be a good thing but

In the case of a short position, it's exactly the opposite. You're betting on things going down, not up. So whatever the case, this all caused a tremendous amount of not just volatility, but a huge swing. The Dow had its biggest intraday swing ever, moving over 2,600 points. between its lowest and its highest point of the trading day, and we're only halfway done at this point.