Sam Sutton
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Articles by Sam Sutton
Why We Can’t Solve the Affordability Crisis
If there's a constant in modern American political cycles, it's that voters are furious over affordability. They were furious when inflation devoured their wages and Covid-era stimulus checks. They stayed furious when oil and gas prices rocketed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As prices ballooned — for houses, for cars, at the grocery store, at the doctor's office — their anger brought President Donald Trump back from the political wilderness. Now, Trump is on the receiving end of that fury.
Trump’s Affordability Crisis Is About to Hit a New Level
The rise in debt yields threatens to stoke Americans‘ anger by pushing up rates even more on mortgages and consumer loans. Long-term interest rates are higher than at any point since President George W. Bush was in the White House. To Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, that’s a reflection of investor confidence in President Donald Trump’s economy.
‘Dead in the water’: Why Bessent should fear the bond market
‘Dead in the water’: Why Bessent should fear the bond market The Treasury secretary’s credibility as a steward of U.S. financial markets is under threat. Wall Street celebrated when President Donald Trump tapped Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department. Now, the former hedge fund manager is being tested by the markets that catapulted him to power. The …
‘Dead in the water’: Why Bessent should fear the bond market
Wall Street celebrated when President Donald Trump tapped Scott Bessent to lead the Treasury Department. Now, the former hedge fund manager is being tested by the markets that catapulted him to power. The Treasury secretary's credibility as a steward of U.S. financial markets is under threat after he stunned traders last week with a new bond-buying plan designed to push down the interest rate the federal government pays on long-term debt.
‘There is no breaking point’: The problem with Trump’s plan to economically strangle Iran
6 hours ago Oman, a historic partner for the United States and proven mediator to Iran, was once again threatened by President Donald Trump over its negotiations with the Islamic Republic, leaving many in the region confused. Trump’s warning on Monday reiterated a threat he issued in May to “blow up” Oman over …
‘There is no breaking point’: The problem with Trump’s plan to economically strangle Iran
President Donald Trump is waiting for Iran to cave to his economic pressure. Tehran may be willing to wait even longer.
Goldman Sachs CEO: It’s time to advance the crypto bill
Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon is throwing his weight behind a landmark crypto bill that would establish a new regulatory framework for digital asset markets, giving the measure a powerful line of support on Wall Street as other top bankers rally against key provisions. "The Clarity Act — like all legislation — is not perfect. And there are lots of things that you could debate and argue about.
Vance’s tough talk on Israel is alienating some Jewish GOP donors
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Vance’s tough talk on Israel is alienating some Jewish GOP donors
JD Vance has an Israel problem. The vice president's pugnacious defense of a ceasefire agreement with Iran that rattled Israeli diplomats — and his tough talk on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government — has damaged his standing with some pro-Israel GOP donors who have backed the party under President Donald Trump.
Trump's job market is proving resilient. Consumer confidence is still sagging.
The U.S. labor market is chugging along, still posting job gains as the unemployment rate ticks down. It's not enough to get Americans amped about President Donald Trump's economy. Job growth slowed in June after ballooning over the last three months, with the Labor Department reporting Thursday that employers added 57,000 jobs. That was less than expected and down from 129,000 the month before, but the unemployment rate — arguably a better indicator of the market's health — dropped to 4.2 percent.
Inflation hits 3-year high, pressuring Fed to raise rates as election nears
President Donald Trump is on a mission to lower borrowing costs as quickly as possible. Wall Street now expects them to go higher. The Commerce Department on Thursday reported that the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge rose at an annual rate of 4.1 percent last month — more than double the central bank's target. Even excluding volatile food and energy prices, the so-called core measure of the personal consumption expenditures index climbed at its fastest pace in almost three years.
How the tech selloff could undercut the engine of Trump’s economy
4 hours ago The planet is getting hotter. But America’s conversation about it has chilled. Summer has begun—which is to say, wildfires in the West are chasing residents from their homes, the snowpack has dwindled to near-record lows in several states, drought is spreading, and temperatures are regularly …
How the tech selloff could undercut the engine of Trump’s economy
The AI-driven stock market rally that helped keep President Donald Trump's economy steady through the height of the Iran war is sputtering. Shares of the largest companies on the tech-focused Nasdaq stock exchange have slid over the last month, and the losses have accelerated this week as investors grow wary of the potential risks posed by massive AI spending plans. Semiconductor stocks plunged on Tuesday after Asian tech giants notched big losses overnight.
‘I love the inflation’: Trump’s messaging on affordability clashes with voter concerns
Sam Sutton and Scott Waldman Wed, June 10, 2026 at 9:25 PM UTC 6 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. ‘I love the inflation’: Trump’s messaging on affordability clashes with voter concerns President Donald Trump is losing the political battle over kitchen table issues that he once dominated. Inflation has surged to the highest level in three years thanks to a politically unpopular war with Iran.
Inflation surges to three-year high as Iran fighting drags on
President Donald Trump’s inflation headache is only getting worse. The Labor Department on Wednesday reported that prices climbed at an annual rate of 4.2 percent in May — the first time it has topped 4 percent in three years — driven by spiking energy costs triggered by the war with Iran. Energy prices have surged by more than 23.5 percent from a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fuel oil has increased by almost 60 percent.
National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross is leading the effort to wrangle hyper-advanced AI. Some worry he’s not up to the task.
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Officials within the Trump administration are worried that National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross is not equipped to lead the White House’s response to rapidly advancing artificial intelligence models with potentially dangerous hacking capabilities. Four current U.S. officials and five industry representatives who spoke to POLITICO said they fear Cairncross isn’t moving with sufficient urgency and lacks the expertise to lead on such a technically complex and emergent national security issue.
By John Sakellariadis Verified, Cheyenne Haslett Verified, Sam Sutton, Aaron Mak Verified, Dana Nickel Verified
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Yahoo
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Trump's 'tortoise' economy: GDP grows even as Iran challenges loom
President Donald Trump’s economy is still growing, but as Americans bristle at rising gas prices, Republicans are staring at a potential slowdown less than six months before a midterm election that will hinge on the economic outlook. The Commerce Department on Thursday said gross domestic product expanded at a 2 percent rate during the first quarter of 2026. The preliminary estimate was an improvement from the weak growth of late last year but fell short of economists' forecasts.
DOJ drops probe into Powell, Fed renovations
The Department of Justice has dropped its probe into a costly, years-long renovation of the central bank’s headquarters, opening the door for Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) to drop his blockade of Kevin Warsh’s confirmation to replace outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
‘Sock puppet’: Warsh, Warren clash over financial disclosure, Fed independence
Sen. Elizabeth Warren sharply questioned Kevin Warsh over his financial assets and his willingness to break with President Donald Trump in a contentious opening to a hearing on the future of the Federal Reserve’s leadership.
The 1 question that will dominate Kevin Warsh’s Fed nomination hearing
The main thing that senators, Wall Street and the White House want out of Kevin Warsh’s nomination hearing for Federal Reserve chair on Tuesday is to know whether he will bow to President Donald Trump. Warsh was selected for the government’s most important economic post by a president who has aggressively made it clear that he wants much lower interest rates.
The war in Iran hits home as housing rebound stalls
Sam Sutton A week before the start of the war with Iran, the White House was celebrating the drop in interest rates on new home loans to the lowest level in nearly four years as a sign the stagnant U.S. housing market was turning around. Less than two months later, the outlook has sharply deteriorated.
‘This is very real’: Surging gas prices drive inflation to highest level in two years
Inflation surged at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in March, the biggest increase in two years and a warning sign to President Donald Trump and Republicans seeking to maintain control of Congress in the midterm elections. Oil and gas prices exploded in March as global energy markets absorbed a once-in-a-generation supply shock from the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
‘A lot of work left to do’: One year after Liberation Day, manufacturers are still waiting for their renaissance
One year ago today, President Donald Trump stood at a lectern in the Rose Garden, held up a booklet of trade barriers as thick as the Bible and told a crowd of people in suits and hard hats that with his planned tariffs, “jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country and you see it happening already." Those jobs and factories haven’t materialized, at least on the grand scale the president and his top advisers have promised.
‘Immensely destabilizing’: Iran war threatens Gulf’s US investments
President Donald Trump is counting on money from the Gulf Arab States to power his economic golden age. But as the war with Iran nears its fifth week and the regional economy enters a free fall, hundreds of billions of dollars that Middle Eastern governments have pledged for U.S. projects are under threat.
Powell says he has 'no intention' of leaving the Fed until DOJ probe concludes
Sam Sutton Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday he won't step down from the central bank's board until the Justice Department concludes a probe into his testimony regarding the Fed's headquarters renovation. “I have no intention of leaving the board until the investigation is well and truly over with transparency and finality,” he said at a press conference.
Court blocks DOJ's probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell
A federal judge has quashed the Justice Department's criminal probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Senate testimony regarding the central bank's renovation, writing that the grand jury subpoenas were a "mere pretext" to pressure the Fed. "There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the President or to resign and make way for a Fed Chair who will," Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote.
Energy, food prices surged in February - before Iran fighting started
Inflation held steady in February as President Donald Trump readied a new military offensive against Iran, but there are clear signs of trouble ahead on prices. The Labor Department reported on Wednesday that food and energy prices climbed sharply in the weeks leading up to the conflict.
Trump’s week: Poor jobs numbers, high gas prices and Noem’s ouster
Donald Trump won reelection on the promise of restoring the economy and eliminating illegal immigration. But in the last week, both issues have threatened to turn into liabilities: A stagnant labor market and soaring gas prices amid the Iran conflict are hammering the economy, and the ouster of Kristi Noem from the Department of Homeland Security has cast new light on the administration’s increasingly unpopular immigration agenda.
Trump’s factory boom isn’t what it looks like
President Donald Trump is seizing on a spike in construction jobs as proof that his push to lure factories back to the U.S. is working — and that an economic boom is on the horizon. The cranes dotting American skylines tell a more complicated story. Industry data show that much of the recent surge in construction jobs is tied to data centers and the power infrastructure that supports them, not a wave of new factories backed by fresh investment pledges Trump has secured.
Trump's economy decelerated as shutdown, consumer spending drag on growth
President Donald Trump was having a hard time selling Americans on his vision for the economy when it was expanding at a rapid clip. Now, growth is starting to decelerate. The Commerce Department on Friday estimated that the economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.4 percent during the fourth quarter as spending cooled amid a record-breaking government shutdown.
Trump wants the Fed to cut rates. Kevin Warsh has bigger plans.
For more than a decade, Kevin Warsh has advocated reining in the Federal Reserve’s pivotal role in the nation’s financial markets. Now, as President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Fed, he may finally get the chance to do that, aided by a Treasury secretary with the same goal. And Wall Street is obsessed with finding out what comes next — bracing for the possibility of extensive market disruptions.
Jobs surprise: Payroll growth beats expectations, keeping Fed on hold
The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in January, in an early sign that the labor market may be regaining strength. The data, released Wednesday by the Labor Department, showed the U.S. added a net 130,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent, the second month in a row that joblessness fell.
‘The sugar high will be short lived’: Trump’s big bet on tax refunds might not pay off
President Donald Trump is betting that larger tax refunds this spring will help sate Americans’ cravings for economic relief and boost GOP fortunes in November. The political payoff may be fleeting. The White House believes the average refund could increase by $1,000 thanks to tax cuts in the GOP’s signature legislation, passed last summer.
Job openings plummet in warning sign for Trump's economy
Sam Sutton President Donald Trump's economy is booming. But if you're looking for a job, good luck. The Labor Department reported on Thursday that job openings in December unexpectedly dropped to their lowest level since mid-2020, during the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic. It's a sign that companies have cooled on hiring despite an economic expansion that the White House has framed as the dawn of a new Golden Age. There's other grim data on the employment market.
The Fed is more divided than ever. Enter Kevin Warsh.
President Donald Trump has tapped Kevin Warsh to lead a Federal Reserve that is more divided on the economy than at any point in more than 30 years. If Trump thinks Warsh will be able to swiftly lower interest rates, he may be in for a surprise. The case for cuts is murky hiring has plummeted, but inflation remains elevated and that has fomented dissent among central bank policymakers who traditionally seek consensus on monetary policy decisions.
‘He Will Bring Some Fresh Air’: Mohammed El-Erian on Kevin Warsh
In selecting Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, President Donald Trump has taken a much different tack than many Wall Street CEOs and Fed watchers may have assumed. As a former Fed governor and Wall Street banker, Warsh was fixated on threats posed by surging prices and artificially cheap financing costs — which suggests that he’s cautious about cutting rates too quickly.
Trump taps Kevin Warsh to lead Federal Reserve
President Donald Trump said he will nominate Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, putting the former Fed board member atop an institution that Trump has relentlessly attacked for failing to cut interest rates. Warsh, 55, now a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, is an established figure in Republican economic circles whose selection to head the world’s most important central bank is likely to be well-received by GOP policymakers.
The dollar is sinking. Trump thinks it’s great.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he has no problem with the sharp decline in the dollar that’s been triggered by convulsions in global bond markets and growing skepticism about the U.S.’s reliability as a trading partner. “I think it’s great,” Trump told reporters in Iowa when asked about the currency’s decline. “Look at the business we’re doing.
Trump's tariff threats spark new fears of 'Sell America' trade
President Donald Trump backed down from the most extreme “Liberation Day” tariffs after bond traders revolted at the prospect of economic upheaval. Now, his push to coerce Denmark into ceding Greenland has threatened to trigger a similar market rout. Bond yields spiked and stocks sank on Tuesday as investors reckoned with how Trump’s threat to impose new tariffs on Europe could hammer alliances that are critical to the global economy.
Soft inflation report boosts Trump amid affordability push
Inflation rose at a slower pace than expected in December, providing a boost to President Donald Trump as the White House faces mounting pressure over his plans to address cost-of-living issues. The Labor Department on Tuesday said prices climbed at an annual rate of 2.7 percent last month, matching the muted figure reported for November.
‘Freaked out’ about the bond market: White House reels from Powell probe
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spent months laying the groundwork for a smooth transition at the Federal Reserve that wouldn’t rattle markets. That plan is now in disarray. The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into whether Fed Chair Jerome Powell misled Congress about renovations at the Fed headquarters — and allegations over who leaked the news — has the White House in damage-control mode.
Trump pushes to limit Wall Street’s footprint in housing
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will move to ban institutional investors from acquiring more single-family homes and called on Congress to back the initiative, in a bid to bring down the cost of housing. Any attempt to target private equity’s involvement in the housing market will likely face considerable pushback from an industry that has managed to beat back Washington-led efforts to rein in its activities.
It’s boom times for Trump’s economy. Especially if you’re rich.
President Donald Trump’s economy has exceeded expectations in his first year back in office. Mainly for America’s wealthiest households, that is. The top 10 percent of U.S. earners spent $20.3 trillion through the first half of 2025 — nearly matching the $22.5 trillion shelled out by everyone else, according to the Royal Bank of Canada. That splurge has been primed by a buoyant stock market, elevated real estate prices and solid wage gains for the wealthy.
Trump's economy surges as consumer spending rebounds
The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 4.3 percent during the third quarter, blowing past the expectations of economists and delivering a boost to President Donald Trump as he seeks to reverse his flagging approval ratings. The Commerce Department’s initial estimate of gross domestic product — which was significantly delayed due to the government shutdown — reported sharp increases in consumer spending, government spending and exports.
'Some of you are probably fine with it’: Newsom confronts business elite on Trump
NEW YORK — Gavin Newsom lit into an audience full of financial power brokers here Wednesday, criticizing what he cast as their complicity with Donald Trump’s agenda.
Larry Summers steps down from OpenAI
Search query Larry Summers steps down from OpenAI Wed, November 19, 2025 at 12:24 PM UTC Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has resigned from the board of directors of the OpenAI Foundation, the latest development in the fallout following the release of emails showing that he sought romantic advice from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Larry Summers steps back from public commitments, 'deeply ashamed' by Epstein revelations
Original Article Posted By: mrdj, 11/18/2025 12:05:02 AM Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers in a statement Monday said he would be stepping back from public life and expressed deep regret for past messages with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the wake of new revelations about the extent of their relationship.
Trump, ignoring MAGA critics, is set to deepen US commitment to Saudi Arabia
President Donald Trump is making a high-profile overture to Saudi Arabia and its polarizing de facto leader — even as some major MAGA figures say the White House is too focused on foreign affairs at the expense of domestic issues. When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives at the White House on Tuesday, it will mark the first such visit since he was implicated in the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
The flip side of America's price crunch: Paltry paychecks
The drubbing that Republicans took at the ballot box last week highlighted President Donald Trump’s weakness on the issue of affordability. But if voters are frustrated over high prices, the GOP’s challenges are unlikely to be resolved until consumers see a pickup in their paychecks.
Michael Grimes helped tech companies get rich. Doing the same thing in Washington will be harder.
Michael Grimes, the top tech industry banker who helped Elon Musk buy Twitter, is taking on what could be the most complicated assignment of his career: managing a first-of-its-kind investment program that will direct the flow of hundreds of billions of capital, known as the investment accelerator.
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