Brad Smith

    Host

    Brad Smith is an Anchor at Yahoo Finance, covering equity markets and general business news. Formerly he was an anchor at Cheddar, reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. His live reporting has spanned the Opening and Closing Bell, as well as topical shows that focused on: earnings, crypto, healthcare, DEI, and sports. Prior to that, Brad worked in Global Listings Services at Nasdaq. He is a Drexel University alum and during the extended hours, you can find Brad scoping out the latest sneakers, or playing drums, basketball, and/or golf.

  • Maximizing your investments as rate cuts kick off: Wealth!

    After the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years, Wealth! host Brad Smith sits down with experts to discuss optimizing your personal finance strategy in the changing macroeconomic environment. Northwestern Mutual wealth management chief portfolio manager Matt Stucky joins to explain why the rate-cutting cycle presents the perfect time to revisit your portfolio allocations. As rate cuts are poised to affect mortgage rates, Chase Home Lending head of refinance and home equity Nina Gidwaney outlines when to refinance your mortgage. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra outlines how the rate cut affects some consumers and the agency’s work. Amid macroeconomic uncertainty and as the labor market comes into focus, Indeed Hiring Lab Research Director Nick Bunker explains how artificial intelligence (AI) can help you advance your job search. Tiffany Aliche, the host of Yahoo Finance’s Money Glow Up, joins to explain how to bulletproof your budget as part of this week's Investing 101: 5 Rules to Build Wealth special Morningstar vice president of research John Rekenthaler unpacks the benefits of backloading your 401(k) investments. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • Sequence risk: What is it, how can it affect your retirement plans?

    Morningstar vice president of research John Rekenthaler joins Wealth! to explain when the right time is to start tapping into your retirement account. Rekenthaler lays out the dangers of sequence risk, or the impact of withdrawing retirement funds, explaining, "When you start retirement, if you start pulling out your money from a portfolio and you're withdrawing from your portfolio and you hit a bear market, you can enter into this vicious cycle where you're pulling out money as the portfolio is dropping and you reach a point where the portfolio cannot really recover. "If you continue pulling out that much money each year and withdrawing from a bear market that hits you early in retirement, your portfolio gets too low, you can't recover." However, he notes that the reverse can happen within a 401(k) plan when you "have the most money in there, and that's when high returns can really help you. So it's really not sequence risk. It's sequence opportunity, I think, is the way to phrase it. It doesn't matter so much for somebody who's young if they encounter a bear market. There's not much money in their 401(k)... But the last 10 to 15 years, if the markets are strong, if the portfolio performs well, that's a great opportunity for people." As retirement account holders age, Rekenthaler encourages them to increase their contributions. He notes that over the age of 50, 401(k) owners can deposit up to an extra $7,500 a year. If this is done during a bull market, the returns could be even more significant. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Indeed researcher lays out why labor market is in a 'good spot'

    Indeed Hiring Lab research director Nick Bunker sits down with Brad Smith on Wealth! to provide key insights into the state of the labor market and his top tips for job seekers. "This is a labor market that's much cooler than what we saw two years ago. You can look at pretty much any indicator of the US labor market right now and it's either signaling a labor market that's about as hot as it was just before the pandemic or slightly cooler," Bunker tells Yahoo Finance. He notes that the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut will help keep the labor market in a "good spot." Bunker looks to indicators like the ratio of job openings to unemployed workers as a way to gauge labor market conditions. He also points to the unemployment rate and quits rate as other indicators, noting that fewer people are leaving their jobs now than in 2021 as there are fewer job openings. Bunker states AI is becoming an increasingly important tool for job seekers, explaining that the technology can help not only with resumes, but interview prep too. While the job search can be grueling, he encourages jobseekers to lean toward sectors that are growing the most, like healthcare: "Especially if you're early in career, that's one that can you can shift towards in part because this has got long-term potential as well. This is something the US is increasingly spending money on." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • How the CFPB wants to ensure consumers benefit from rate cuts

    After the Federal Reserve cut rates for the first time in four years, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) director Rohit Chopra joins Brad Smith on Wealth! to discuss how the cut affects consumers and the agency’s work. “We know that consumers since 2022 have been paying billions and billions of dollars in more interest on credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages,” and “refinancing is going to be a way that they can really cut their costs," Chopra tells Yahoo Finance. The CFPB is “pretty laser-focused on making sure that consumers and households actually benefit from this, rather than just the wealthiest and the most powerful in the society getting the fruits of this rate cut.” Chopra says the agency will “be taking some actions to look at how to streamline the refinancing process, making it quicker so more borrowers can benefit.” “Typically, large financial institutions are quick to hike rates when the Fed raises its target but are often pretty slow when it comes to bringing those rates down. Our analysis of the big credit card issuers showed they jacked up interest rates way higher than the Fed raised their rates.” “I really worry that in the very short term, people are just going to see lower rates on their deposits, and it's going to take some real work to make sure they have savings on their credit cards, mortgages, and their auto loans.” The impact of the rate cut “is really going to vary based on who and what product, but we're firing on all cylinders to find ways that more and more people can benefit,” Chopra says. Beyond the impact of the rate cuts, the director says the CFPB is “going to continue our serious focus on the role of junk fees that can block successful refinancing and make households deeper in debt.” He explains, “overdraft fees used to be something that was really occasional and a convenience for the paper-check era…but over time, it turned into a multibillion-dollar bonanza for the nation's biggest banks.” “Our efforts have already wiped away billions of dollars of what I consider unearned profits, and we're taking further steps to make sure that consumers are actually... opting into this. We issued some policies this week to make it clear that you can't just opt some consumer into this without meaningfully getting their consent.” “We've also proposed some new rules to make it easier for consumers to compare an overdraft loan with a credit card or other type of loan because, in many cases, it is way cheaper to use other forms of credit to meet a shortfall.” “There's big reforms happening when it comes to junk fees. Our work has brought down tens of billions of dollars across products, credit cards, bank accounts, and more, and we've got even more to do.” For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • An end to the housing market's lock-in effect may be in sight

    As the Federal Reserve has kicked off its rate easing cycle, Chase Home Lending head of refinance and home equity Nina Gidwaney joins Wealth! to discuss how home buyers and owners should be considering their mortgages. Gidwaney believes that now is a good time for homeowners to consider getting a lower mortgage rate. "If rates go down below 6%, about 4.7 million customers would become in the money for a refinance opportunity. And that's a significant amount of customers who may have bought a home in the last 2 or 3 years and are sitting on that higher rate... and could take advantage of a lower payment," she explains. The lock-in effect has put pressure on the housing market as owners with low mortgage rates are holding off on listing their homes. However, as interest rates and mortgage rates come down, Gidwaney believes the lock-in effect could break up. She tells Yahoo Finance that prospective homebuyers "will start to be willing to purchase a home and be willing to take on a higher rate. And people have to move. They have to sell their home and they have to do other things in their life. So I think it's a great time for customers to start to do that." As the Fed's rate-cutting cycle is largely already priced into mortgage rates, she advises consumers not to try to time the market when looking to buy a home. Instead, she encourages them to speak with mortgage professionals to ensure they receive the best possible rate. Home prices hit a record high in June, and with many choosing to stay in their homes for longer, Gidwaney believes that homeowners should leverage their increased equity: "With mortgage rates the lowest that they've been basically all year, it is a very good time for customers to consider taking that equity and getting a cash-out [refinance], consolidating some of their higher-interest debt, like their credit card or auto loan debt, reducing their overall credit profile. It is a very good time, also, for customers to think about getting a HELOC [home equity line of credit] and using that home equity to their advantage." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Now's the time to revisit portfolio goals as Fed cuts rates

    As the Federal Reserve kicks off its interest rate easing cycle, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management chief equities portfolio manager Matt Stucky joins Wealth! to discuss how investors can reassess their portfolio allocations. "I think now is a really good time to revisit your financial plan, goals, and objectives with an advisor. Over the last year or so, a lot of investors have flocked to money market funds, and earlier this month, we saw a report that about $6.3 trillion is sitting in the money market asset class right now," Stucky explains. He notes that the Fed's 50-basis-point cut will "dissipate" the attractiveness of money market funds. He believes investors shouldn't change their long-term asset allocations given the Fed's decision. However, he notes that cash allocations have increased over the last few years, and now is a good time to deploy them strategically. He warns "the one thing that we're cautioning our clients with is they're looking to replace that 5 to 5.5% that they were getting in the money market kind of area with something that's a similar type of yield. But today, you have to take more risk to achieve that." While the tech sector has spearheaded much of the market's growth this year, Stucky encourages investors to proceed with caution: "Right now, we're talking about the current macroeconomic environment with our clients as being one in kind of later cycle dynamics, meaning that in our view, the risk of a mild recession is still somewhat elevated. And in that sense, you want to embrace diversification, not just concentrate into what's working well." He explains that if the economy achieves the Fed's soft landing, the tech sector could continue its growth. However, if the economy decelerates, tech could come under pressure, so investors should avoid being too concentrated in a specific sector and embrace diversification, which he calls "the bedrock of a good portfolio." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Markets, investors can 'settle down' after Fed cut: Strategist

    US stocks gain as investors digest the Federal Reserve’s 50-basis-point cut. Academy Securities head of macro strategy Peter Tchir joins Seana Smith and Brad Smith on Morning Brief to discuss how to navigate the market (^DJI,^GSPC, ^IXIC) as the interest rate cutting cycle kicks off. Tchir says the market could be “a little bit ahead of itself,” rallying higher after the Fed decision: “I was expecting 50, and I thought the Fed would try and make it a hawkish 50 and you saw that attempt — they had the dissent [from some Fed officials], they moved rates lower, the projections lower — but nowhere near to what the market was pricing at the end of 2025.” “But, they did cut 50, and I think that's giving a big impetus to the market, and we're going to see positioning play out," the strategist tells Yahoo Finance, expecting markets to “settle down a little bit from here. Everyone can calm down” after investors have had some time to digest the Fed’s action. The strategist acknowledges there is some risk in the rotation trade but explains his view that the Russell 2000 (^RUT) small-cap index could become momentum: “They're relatively small. I think there's very little liquidity in this market… Money flows into the ETFs. You've got the day trading. So I think that will push things higher than they should. So I think you could get a really nice response from the Russell 2000 if it attracts the momentum cash.” In regard to the bond market (^TYX, ^TNX, ^FVX), Tchir diagnoses its trends as “largely gridlock” as the market waits for the presidential election. He adds, “I don't think that derails much of the equity rally. But again, it will slow down those mega-caps.” For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • Beware of more downside risk to the dollar, strategist warns

    The US dollar index (DX-Y.NYB) is paring back some of its losses in Thursday's trading session after plunging following the Federal Reserve's 50-basis-point interest rate cut. ING FX strategist Francesco Pesole believes there may be more weakness ahead for the dollar and joins Morning Brief to lay out his case. "I think the initial reaction to the big Fed cut was not very clear for markets. They tried to make sense of the fact that the Fed did cut by 50 basis points. But then Powell, in the press conference, was quite hawkish. Now we think that moving on, it's more likely that the Fed will move in 25-basis-point steps," Pesole tells Yahoo Finance. "However, we think the markets will still prefer to err on the side of dovishness when it comes to pricing and, ultimately, they may prefer to stay on the soft side, the bearish side of the dollar into the US election." He argues that the 50-basis-point cut was "backward-looking," arguing that the Fed should have cut rates at its July meeting: "In a way, it feels more like the Fed is catching up with other central banks. You look at the Bank of Canada that moved early, obviously the European Central Bank, but also the Bank of England, so I don't think there is this very strong notion that the Fed is leading the way in monetary easing." As the 2024 presidential election lies less than two months away, Pesole notes that the market is moving closer to favoring a victory for Vice President Kamala Harris in November. He argues that the election will be very important for the dollar and explains that there is a "decent case for dollar short positions to rise into the election on the back of this Fed cut." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Apple, Alibaba, PayPal and Amazon: 3 Stories In Focus

    EU regulators warned Apple (AAPL) to open up its iPhone operating system — iOS — to rivals or face antitrust fines. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) is launching over 100 AI models and tools to better compete in the generative AI landscape. In a new partnership, PayPal (PYPL) is offering Amazon Prime (AMZN) customers the chance to use the online payment platform when buying from third-party merchants on Amazon. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Nvidia, chip stocks rise on Fed's rate cut

    The Federal Reserve's decision to cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points is giving chip stocks, including Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), and AMD (AMD) a boost. In the video above, Morning Brief anchors Seana Smith and Brad Smith break down the action. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Stephanie Mikulich.

  • Fed should calibrate rate cut sizes using labor data: Economist

    The Federal Reserve's interest rate cut was a long time coming, the first rate reduction since 2020. But what was a 50-basis-point cut too aggressive a move too soon as Fed Chair Jerome Powell assures that the central bank is not behind the curve? Nationwide Mutual senior vice president and chief economist Kathy Bostjancic sits down with Seana Smith and Brad Smith in-studio to talk more about the Fed's soft landing hopes stemming from its rate cut — "there's always the risk that they've [the Fed has] been a little too slow in doing this" — and how she is interpreting key economic data. "At the heart of it, it is about inflation slowing. And if it continues to ease, interest rates should be lowered in line with that. I look at the employment data, labor market data as telling us how they really need to calibrate the size of those rate cuts. And do they go quicker, because we do see this slowing in the labor market? That's not what the Fed is forecasting," Bostjancic tells Yahoo Finance. "Or do we continue to kind of cruise along, above 100,000 jobs each month, and then that means we're we're on path for a soft landing?" For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Darden Restaurants stock pops on Uber partnership

    Shares of Darden Restaurants (DRI) are moving higher after the company reported first quarter results that fell short of estimates, though it did reiterate its fiscal 2025 guidance. One thing that is giving the stock a boost is a partnership with Uber (UBER). The partnership will allow customers to place Olive Garden orders that Uber Direct will deliver. The program is set to launch as a pilot late this year with the hopes of expanding it nationwide by mid-2025.  In the video above, Morning Brief anchors Seana Smith and Brad Smith break down Darden's announcements. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Stephanie Mikulich.

  • Crypto stocks surge as bitcoin rallies above $62K

    Bitcoin (BTC-USD) is rallying off of the Federal Reserve's landmark interest rate cut, rising over $3,000 since the central bank's announcement yesterday. Crypto stocks like Riot Platforms (RIOT), MicroStrategy (MSTR), exchange platform Coinbase (COIN), and bitcoin miner Marathon Digital (MARA) are climbing higher Thursday morning. Morning Brief hosts Seana Smith and Brad Smith weigh in on what the rate-cutting environment means for the crypto space, referencing Standard Chartered head of crypto research Geoff Kendrick's forecast that sees bitcoin skyrocketing to $200,000 by the end of 2025 regardless of who wins this year's presidential election. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Fed's cut was an 'optimistic message': Former Atlanta Fed president

    The Federal Reserve kicked off its rate easing cycle yesterday with a 50 basis point cut. Former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Dennis Lockhart joins Morning Brief to discuss the move and the rate cut path ahead as the Fed eyes a soft landing for the US economy. "I think it was on balance, an optimistic message. It was not necessarily a reaction to anything particularly wrong. I think the committee is increasingly confident that that inflation is under control and they like where the labor market is and they want to protect that. So it's really not a message of reaction to things going haywire. It's more to preserve a good thing," Lockhart says of the Fed's interest rate decision. He notes that the committee being largely in agreement on the decision is "desirable" as it shows a "unified face" behind US monetary policy. Fed Chair Powell stated in his press conference Wednesday that the cut is the beginning of a "recalibration process" for the economy. Lockhart explains that this process is not a predetermined path. Rather, it will be a "meeting by meeting judgment of what the economy needs with some caution about the ability to react, perhaps with a deeper cut, if necessary, to some development that comes along." While some investors would like to see the Federal Reserve initiate another 50 basis point interest rate cut by the end of the year, Lockhart believes cuts of 25 basis points will be more appropriate as the Fed looks to preserve flexibility. "They, I think, emphasize that the 50-basis-points move yesterday was like a down payment. You could even argue it was a little bit of a catch-up from what could have been done in July," he tells Yahoo Finance. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Rate cut reactions, Bank of England, Biden speech: 3 Things

    Stock futures (ES=F, NQ=F, YM=F) ride higher Thursday morning after the Federal Reserve opted to cut interest rates by 50 basis points at the central bank's September meeting yesterday. The Bank of England held its own interest rates at 5% at its latest meeting, with other global central banks to announce their rate policies this week. President Biden will address the milestone rate cut by the Fed and the progress the US economy has made as inflation cools in a speech at the Economic Club of Washington, DC, this afternoon. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Investing advice, women in the C-suite, rate cuts: Wealth!

    It's time to think about building while the markets are preoccupied with the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision. Wealth! host Brad Smith leads discussions into various personal saving and investment topics centered around your personal finances. BlackRock Multi-Asset Strategies & Solutions (MASS) director and strategist Tushar Yadava joins the program to cover how investors can add ETFs to their portfolios as the Fed intends to cut rates. Lean In co-founder and CEO Rachel Thomas and McKinsey Senior Partner Alexis Krivkovich also come onto Wealth! to talk about the progress women executives have made in increasing their presence in C-suite roles, though there is still a long way to go. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • US housing inventory, Salesforce's Benioff talks AI regulation: Catalysts

    Stocks are getting into the swing of things in the first full trading hour of Wednesday, September 18. Catalysts hosts Madison Mills and Brad Smith cover an array of topics as investors and markets await the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy decision later this afternoon. Bank of America Securities senior home builders and building products analyst Rafe Jadrosich joins the program to talk about trends in housing affordability and inventory as mortgage rates begin to cool. KPMG CEO Paul Knopp breaks down the results of KPMG's 2024 CEO Outlook Survey as chief executives continue to be optimistic on their corporate growth. Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi sat down with Salesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff at the 2024 Dreamforce conference in San Francisco to talk about the future of AI regulation. Other top trending stocks on the Yahoo Finance platform include Novartis (NVS), Novo Nordisk (NVO), Tupperware Brands (TUP), and Amazon (AMZN). This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Why women still have a long way to go for workplace equality

    A new report on women in the workplace shows women have made progress in corporate America over the last ten years. Today, women make up 29% of C-suite positions, compared to just 17% in 2015, according to a report by McKinsey and LeanIn.org.  Lean In co-founder and CEO Rachel Thomas and McKinsey Senior Partner Alexis Krivkovich join Wealth! to discuss the report and why there's still a long way to go for women to see equal representation in the C-suite. "We're at 29% women in the C-suite. That's a huge gain from 10 years ago, which was 17%. But those gains are incredibly fragile. And here's why. When you look under the hood, the way companies, on average, got that representation into the C-suite was they added a seat at the table and they tried hard to fill that with a woman. That seat was typically a staff position, so we're talking CHRO, chief legal counsel, a finance leader. Those are really important, but you can't keep adding seats to the table to get yourself to equality," Krivkovich tells Yahoo Finance. She also notes that these companies have mainly looked externally for that talent, explaining, "they're not growing the next generation inside the way we need to see." Thus, a lot of work still needs to be done for women to rise up in the C-suite. She explains that in the best-case scenario, full equality can be achieved in 22 years for white women and 48 years for women of color. Thomas adds that despite increasing commitments to gender and racial diversity, progress slipped over the last year. "One of the first things we need is organizations to recommit to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and really double down on their efforts," she says. She hopes to see these organizations focus on the "broken rung," which is a term that describes the disadvantaged position women are in from their first step up to manager. Thomas notes that for every 100 men that were promoted to manager this year, only 81 women followed suit. Therefore, organizations need to invest in the early careers of women. Krivkovich concludes, "This is not about a zero-sum game. This is about creating opportunity for all. And we see that in companies that do it really well. When they have really strong processes in place, when they de-bias the system, they don't just add better maternity leave policies, they add better paid paternity leave policies. They don't just teach managers how to coach and develop women, they teach managers how to coach and develop all employees. And that's why you see the results for the companies that really focus on this actually have healthier performance across the board." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Saving for retirement at every stage of life: Investing 101

    As part of Yahoo Finance’s Investing 101: 5 Rules to Build Wealth special, Decoding Retirement podcast host Robert Powell joins Brad Smith to discuss the third rule: building your retirement nest egg with actionable tips and how to do so through every career stage. Young professionals early in their careers should prioritize paying down their debt, "whether it's student debt or your credit card debt, especially your credit card debt," Powell says. The next thing is to “consider investing in your human capital,” a worker’s experiences and skills which “represents the largest asset that you have about 90% relative to maybe 10% of your financial capital.” Finally, Powell recommends young professionals contribute "to your 401(k) enough to get your full employer match” and think about investing aggressively as young people “have a long-term time horizon” so “you could afford to invest 90% of your assets in equities.” For those in the mid-career stage, Powell says the focus shifts to resource allocation as “you're balancing different goals” while “trying to save for retirement at the same time.” At this stage, some may be weighing saving for their children's college education against saving for retirement, but Powell underlines “you can't borrow for retirement” but “you can borrow for college.” Another factor is to maximize saving toward retirement is to “think about trying to hit the 15% mark” for savings. Powell also says mid-career professionals should create an investment policy statement to get a sense of your investment timeline and goals as well as your risk tolerance and then rebalance accordingly. Retirement is “a case of being rows and columns” where “each year you need to be looking at your expenses and adjusting them accordingly, and then making sure that you have sufficient income to match those expenses,” Powell says. If retirees find a shortfall between their income and expenses, part-time work could help close the gap. Another concern for retirees is “outliving their assets in retirement” or “the risk of longevity,” which could lead some to consider investing in an income annuity, which is something that will pay you an income for the rest of your life.” Once in retirement, you “need to think carefully about your asset allocation, just as you did when you were mid-career, but now maybe you need to be a little bit more conservative with your investments,” Powell says. Powell tells the Wealth! team that the “general rule of thumb is that you should aim to replace 70% to 80% of your income in retirement that you had prior to retirement,” though this can vary in different income quintiles. If you've got questions about money or retirement, email us at [email protected]. Retirement planning doesn’t mean locking up your money for a rainy day and forgetting about it. Planning your future means reacting to events today. Decoding Retirement gives you the tools to navigate the years ahead and take action now!Find more episodes of Decoding Retirement at https://finance.yahoo.com/videos/series/decoding-retirement.Thoughts? Questions? Fan mail? Email us at [email protected]. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • Investors await Fed decision, EU overturns Google fine: Morning Brief

    Wall Street is abuzz with talk around the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision to come later today. It has been highly anticipated — by investors and markets — that the central bank will begin cutting interest rates at the conclusion of its September FOMC meeting, followed by a press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Morning Brief's Brad Smith and Madison Mills help investors start their day off right, tackling the biggest market stories and getting expert Wall Street commentary about the Fed's interest rate moves. The show welcomes on Oppenheimer Chief Investment Strategist John Stoltzfus to talk about his own outlook around the Fed's rate cutting, how much the central bank could initially cut by, and the cyclical sectors that are well positioned for a rate cut. Independent Institute senior fellow Judy Shelton joins the program to discuss the economic policy reform she wishes to see from the Fed, especially if former President Donald Trump is reelected. Shelton previously served as an economic adviser to Trump, and he nominated her for the Federal Reserve Board in 2019. Other top trending stocks on the Yahoo Finance platform include General Mills (GIS), Intuitive Machines (LUNR), and Roku (ROKU). This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.