Coffee Talk with Tiff

September 10, 2025 12:00 pm EDT Tiff Coffee Talk with Tiff 0
Coffee. Photo by Jonathan Thursfield.

It’s Wednesday…

President Shitshow’s public schedule for…

09/10/2025:

Curious minds wanna know how much these “dinners” are costing the tax payer…

The BLS said the Producer Price Index (PPI) for August was down .01 percent.

US inflation cooled off at the wholesale level as businesses’ margins took a big hit in August, new data showed Wednesday.

Producer prices unexpectedly fell 0.1% in August, cooling annual inflation to 2.6% from a downwardly revised 3.1% in July, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Helping to drive prices lower was a 1.7% drop in trade services, a category reflective of producers, wholesalers and retailers’ profit margins. If margins are shrinking, it could be an indication that businesses are using those to eat higher costs, economists have said.

When excluding highly volatile components like trade services, as well as food and energy, the underlying inflation trend appears less rosy: Prices rose 0.3% from July and ticked up to 2.8% for the 12 months ended in August.

[snip]

Still, Wednesday’s report painted a picture of inflation not drastically escalating at the wholesale level, a dynamic that bolstered investors’ expectations that the Federal Reserve will follow through cutting interest rates later this month.

CNN. 09/10/2025.

For another POV…

1. For the third time this year, PPI showed outright deflation in what is generally considered a measure of pipeline price pressures. Wall Street economists had been looking for a 0.3% increase. Core PPI, which strips out food and energy, also fell 0.1% though core minus trade services actually rose 0.3%

2. The tame reading will only feed market expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut next week, and President Donald Trump was quickly on the case. “Just out: No Inflation!!! ‘Too Late’ must lower the RATE, BIG, right now. Powell is a total disaster, who doesn’t have a clue!!!” he posted on Truth Social in his latest shot at Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

3. Despite the tame inflation and near-certainty of a rate cut, market reaction was muted. Stocks rose slightly and Treasury yields moved only modestly lower. PPI is generally not considered a high-profile or well-understood metric, and traders are likely waiting for the consumer price index print Thursday.

4. Fed officials look not only at headline numbers but also the underlying drivers. The PPI report provided good news on inflation fundamentals. The service sector, which drives some 80% of GDP, saw outright deflation, falling 0.2%. Even goods prices, which are much more heavily impacted by tariffs, rose just 0.1%.

5. The CPI reading, due Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET, will get more attention. As with PPI, the consensus outlook is for a 0.3% increase. About four-fifths of the CPI and PPI numbers feed into the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index. CPI is the final big data point before the Fed’s rate decision a week from now.

The Dumbest President Ever reacted to the news that wholesale prices are down…

Speaking of the economy…

Show more =’s Reports that Hyundai has suspended the travel of its employees to US are unconfirmed.

I googled it.

Ked Global.com (09/08/2025): Korea’s major US investment projects halted as detained LG Energy workers set for release

The $4.3 billion joint venture battery facility, among the largest projects in Georgia and expected to create 8,500 jobs, was scheduled for completion later this year to supply battery cells to Hyundai’s nearby EV factory, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America LLC (HMGMA).

Construction work on the site was suspended following the raid.

The incident has thrown Korea’s flagship investment projects in the US into disarray.

Sources said at least 22 other factory sites involving Korean business groups, in autos, shipbuilding, steel and electrical equipment, have been nearly halted.

[snip]

Korean companies with US interests have frozen travel plans and recalled staff already in the US over fears of further raids.

“Korean workers are being treated like criminals for building factories that Washington itself lobbied for,” said a company executive in Seoul. “If this continues, investment in the US could be reconsidered.”

The incident underscores a structural weakness in Korea Inc.’s overseas expansion model.

With H-1B and L-1 work visas, which are harder to obtain, in short supply, Korean firms have routinely rotated engineers through 90-day ESTA entries or short-term B-1 visas to meet tight construction schedules.

Industry officials in Seoul warn that unless visa arrangements for skilled Korean employees are settled through bilateral talks, investment timetables worth more than 140 trillion won ($101 billion) across multiple US states will face serious delays and cost overruns.

The ICE raid risks inflaming tensions between Washington and Seoul, a key ally and major investor in the US.

Ked Global.com (09/08/2025): Korea’s major US investment projects halted as detained LG Energy workers set for release

In other news…

Poland said a number of Russian drones entered its airspace during an attack on Ukraine early Wednesday and were shot down with the help of NATO allies, a first since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Leaders across Europe condemned the incident as the latest sign of escalation from the Kremlin, which has rebuffed President Donald Trump’s bid to broker peace talks.

Russia labeled the accusations “groundless” and said it did not plan to attack any targets in Poland.

[snip]

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said earlier that his country had dealt with “a large-scale provocation,” and that four of the 19 recorded drones were shot down.

Tusk added that a significant number of the drones flew in from Belarus, an authoritarian ally of Russia used as a launching pad for attacks on Ukraine.

“I have no reason to claim we’re on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed,” he told the Polish Parliament. “This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II.”

Belarus said the drones had “lost their way” and that it had also shot some down over its territory.

[snip]

Tusk said he had activated Article 4 of NATO’s treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies, and that he was in touch with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who called the incursion “reckless behavior,” irrespective of whether it was deliberate.

A NATO official confirmed to NBC News that Poland had “requested consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty,” only the 8th time that the article — which does not trigger a military reaction — has been invoked since NATO was established in 1949.

NBC News. 09/10/2025.

President Stable Genius has finally offered a response to the drone attack by Russia…

Where are we going?

In court case news…

And…

In Congressional News…

This not a flip. The seat was held by Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly until his death in May of this year. This does however give Democrats one more vote in the House.

In non-political news…

Movie theaters across the country are pulling out the stops for Dick Van Dyke’s 100th birthday in December. A new documentary about the song and dance man’s life, “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration,” will be in theaters over his birthday weekend on Dec. 13 and 14, Fathom Entertainment said Wednesday.

“It’s wonderful; a total surprise for me,” Van Dyke said in a statement the filmmakers provided to The Associated Press. “If you don’t think luck has a lot to do with it, then you’re mistaken.”

The feature length film has been in the works for over three decades. In telling the story of Van Dyke’s 80-plus years in entertainment, the film weaves together clips from classic films, like “Mary Poppins,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “Bye Bye Birdie,” and television shows, including “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Diagnosis: Murder,” as well as new interviews with Van Dyke in which he shares never-before-heard stories from his time in Hollywood.

AP News. 09/10/2025.

Tickets go on sale on Halloween.

This is an open thread

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About Tiff 3283 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.