The Administration's One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) has had caused a lot of wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth. How are we going to pay for all of these tax cuts? Where have the tax credits gone? What do you mean the states can't regulate Artificial Intelligence?

However, the hullabaloo misses the point: without a meaningful pickup in economic activity and reduction in Federal expenditures, there is no hope to get the budget deficits under control. Is there anything to be done? Interestingly enough, perhaps.

In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss the OBBB and what it means for the US.

This week, the Court of International Trade sort of put the kibosh on the Administration's blanket, reciprocal tariffs. Also, Elon Musk made his exit from the apparently ineffectual DOGE, but not before taking a few passing shots. Also, while the House passed the President's "big beautiful bill," a lot of people are wondering how Washington can possibly pay for it. All told, from the outside looking in, it wasn't a very good week for the President. So, where does he go from here?

In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss the Administration's trying week and where it must go from here.

This week, the stock markets rallied sharply on news the Administration was going to cut the tariff rate with China from 145% to 30%.

• However, should investors be enthused with constantly shifting economic policies?
• Particularly those like tariffs, which add costs to both the importer and the consumer?
• Further, with the economy already cooling slightly, is now the right time to play hard ball with our trading partners? Basically, what is the real cause for celebration?

In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss the extreme reaction the markets had to the reduction in tariff rates with the Chinese.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently announced the U.S. economy shrank during the 1st quarter of 2025. Obviously, that is not good news. However, is it the bad news the headline would imply? Are we standing at the edge of the economic cliff? Or will the UJS economy be able to take a step back of the abyss?

In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss the recent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report and whether the U.S. is headed for a deep recession. So, is the sky really falling?

After a few days of positive returns, it seems the market panic has subsided. So, is now a good buying opportunity? Is it safe to get back into the investing waters? Or would it be prudent to wait a while? After all, the threat of tariffs are still very real and very possible. The economy appears a little weaker than it was in 2024, consumer confidence has collapsed and corporate America doesn't have a good idea what the remainder of the year will bring. If that sounds like a good time to invest to you, have at it.

In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss the recent market volatility and ask a very basic question: is now the time to buy?

One of the Administration's primary goals with the tariff wars seems to be onshoring production jobs. Intuitively, that makes sense. More jobs are almost always better than fewer. However, are these the types of jobs the American economy actually needs and the American workers actually wants? Further, what is the likelihood companies make drastic shifts in their production facilities, understanding President Trump will be gone in less than 4 years? These are great questions which need real answers.

In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement, John Norris and special guest David McGrath discuss the potential for more manufacturing jobs in the economy and wonder whether they are worth the pain.

We have all heard the worst-case scenarios, and everyone is hoping for the best-case ones.

However, what is the probable case scenario?

Oakworth Capital's Investment Committee discusses the recent market volatility and likely outcomes.

Yesterday, the Administration announced widespread tariffs on the remainder of the world. It hit some countries harder than others, with rates which will certainly curtail trade between our country and theirs. Is this really good for overall economic activity? Given the stock markets' extremely negative reactions, it would seem like it isn't. So, why did we do it?

In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discussed the announced tariffs and their potential impact on the economy.

If the headlines have seemed somewhat repetitive recently, it is because they have been. Another day, another DOGE headline and another barb traded. The markets continue to be choppy and gold continues to rally. Foreign leaders have to be tired of bristling against comments from Washington. While arguably exciting at first, the news has become boring and predictable in its unpredictably. It has almost been like listening to the same record over and over again.

In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss recent global events and what has been the most surprising to them thus far in 2025. Will you be surprised by what they have to say?

The policy making committee of the Federal Reserve met this week and didn't cut interest rates. That was as expected. But if it was so widely expected, why did anyone care? Does the Fed have access to information the rest of us don't? Does it have crystal balls which actually work? Are the voting members on the committee that much smarter? Or have we given the Fed magical powers it doesn't really have?

In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss the most recent Fed meeting and what it means for the economy, if anything.