Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and the macro landscape.
The Trump administration is once again targeting Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, resuming its push to remove her from the board just two months after the Supreme Court blocked an earlier attempt. The move signals a persistent White House effort to place allies inside the Fed, raising fresh questions about central bank independence and what that means for rate policy going forward.
Turning to the labor market, Friday's jobs data painted a troubling picture. The economy shed twenty-three thousand jobs last month, yet the unemployment rate actually fell as the workforce itself shrank. Economists are pointing to immigration enforcement as a key factor, warning that deported workers aren't being replaced by American workers — their jobs are simply vanishing, with particular strain visible in healthcare, construction, and agriculture.
Meanwhile in equities, Palantir capped its best week since twenty twenty four as investors piled back in on the strength of surging demand for its artificial intelligence platforms. The company had been treated as a skeptic's target in the AI trade, but this week's price action suggests the market is reassigning it squarely to the winner's column.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
