AI Summary
5 min readThree Iranian strikes hit three more tankers in the Strait of Hormuz this morning. Diesel prices immediately hit all-time record highs. Treasury yields also hit all-time record highs. And Donald Trump spent the morning ranting on social media about Fox News giving too much airtime to Democrats.
That is the scene the MeidasTouch host lays out at the top of this episode—a president unwell, a market in turmoil, and an administration caught manipulating its own inflation data to hide what is happening.
The PCE Inflation Revision
The most consequential development of the morning is a quiet change at the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Shortly after the August PCE inflation numbers were published, the BEA changed the way it calculates the metric. The headline result looked good: August PCE fell to 3.4 percent, below expectations of 3.7 percent, and core PCE fell to 3 percent, below expectations of 3.3 percent. July numbers were also revised down by 30 basis points each.
The White House message was immediate: maybe the Federal Reserve will not need more rate hikes. Bloomberg ran headlines about "sharper disinflation." But the host points to a basic contradiction: diesel prices are at all-time highs. Diesel is a major input for industry and agriculture. If the economy were truly disinflating, diesel would not be setting records.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:06) **Iran Strikes Tankers; Diesel and Treasury Yields Hit Record Highs** - The episode opens with three tankers struck by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, leading to all-time high diesel prices and Treasury yields.
- 2 (00:23) **Trump Rants Against Fox News** - Trump posts on social media complaining that Fox News gives Democrats more airtime than Republicans, claiming this is why "MAGA and real patriots will never like Fox."
- 3 (00:56) **Trump’s Approval Hits Record Lows** - The host reports that Donald Trump's approval ratings are at record lows for any president since modern polling began.
- 4 (01:05) **Market Manipulation: PCE Inflation Numbers Changed** - The host alleges that the Bureau of Economic Analysis changed its formula for calculating PCE inflation, leading to a fraudulent report showing disinflation.
- 5 (03:36) **Ken Paxton Blames Trump’s Convention for His Polling Slump** - Audio obtained by the New York Times reveals Ken Paxton telling donors that Trump’s "Trumpapalooza" Republican midterm convention hurt his polling numbers.
- 6 (04:46) **DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen Threatens Migrants While Holding a Stress Ball** - The host shows a clip of Secretary Mullen holding a stress ball while making harsh statements about migrants.
- 7 (07:06) **MAGA Senator Jim Justice Criticizes Trump’s Deportation Policies** - West Virginia Senator Jim Justice, a MAGA Republican, says, "You're dragging people away that have lived on your street corner for 15 years, and I don't know that we need to be doing that."
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Show Notes
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on three more tankers hit in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and pressure mounts from rising diesel prices and Treasury yields as Trump tries to manipulate the market.
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