Stocks jumped and the dollar rose after President Donald Trump said he had no intention of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell while optimism grew that trade tensions may be easing. Trump's comments on the Fed chief late Tuesday in Washington walk back opinions expressed earlier in the week that sparked concerns about the US central bank's independence. Progress in various trade talks also helped improve market sentiment after investors had broadly retreated from US assets this month following the announcement of century-high levies. We break down the themes driving volatility with Ecaterina Bigos, CIO for Asia ex-Japan Core Investments at AXA Investment Managers.

Plus - US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a closed-door investor summit Tuesday that the tariff standoff with China cannot be sustained by both sides and that the world's two largest economies will have to find ways to de-escalate. That de-escalation will come in the very near future, Bessent said during an event hosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Washington, which wasn't open to the public or media. He characterized the current situation as essentially a trade embargo, according to people who attended the session. We talk tariffs and trade policy with Tom Bruce, Macro Investment Strategist at Tanglewood Total Wealth Management.

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