Why does this matter to me?

Following a dreadful start last week, fuelled by President Trump’s derogatory comments about Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, which cast aspersions on the central bank’s independence, global financial sentiment progressively improved through the rest of the week. This followed Trump’s denials that he intended to fire Powell, as well as ongoing suggestions that discussions were taking place between the United States, China, and other trading partners to prevent the US from imposing reciprocal tariffs on them. Domestically, an outstandingly low inflation number raised hopes of a rate cut next month. The week ahead is crucial in potentially containing the first concrete evidence of the impact of Trump’s tariff regime.