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The Fed Just Did Something It Hasn't Done Since 1992. Here's What It Means.investment

The Fed Just Did Something It Hasn't Done Since 1992. Here's What It Means.

By Matthew Benjamin – May 4, 2026 at 1:00AM ESTKey PointsFour members of the committee dissented on the Fed's decision.The unusual split on the committee suggests a rate hike is possible this year.As expected, the Federal Reserve didn't change its policy rate at last week's meeting. But something monumental did happen at the two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed's interest rate-setting committee. And it has to be considered a negative development for the stock market. Four members of the FOMC dissented from the Fed's monetary policy statement. The committee hasn't had four dissents on a statement in more than three decades. The last time it occurred was in 1992. One member of the committee dissented in favor of cutting the Fed's policy rate, the federal funds rate, by a quarter percentage point. Three other members dissented because they objected to language in the meeting statement that indicates the FOMC has a bias toward easing, i.e., cutting rates, in the future. Image source: Getty Images. Some Fed observers see the unusual level of dissent at this week's FOMC meeting as a clear signal to the next Fed chief that members won't be bullied into interest rate cuts they don't support. According to Bob Michele, chief investment officer at JPMorgan Asset Management, the dissents are a message to the incoming Fed chair that committee members are prepared to defy him going forward. That incoming chair is very likely to be Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee to succeed Jerome Powell. The Senate is set to confirm him by mid-May, when Powell's term as chair ends. Trump has been pressuring the Fed to cut interest rates for months, to no avail. Because Trump selected Warsh as his nominee, analysts assume he will be more disposed to ease monetary policy going forward, through rate cuts. The dissent means an interest rate cut this year is even less likely The FOMC committee requires a majority vote from its 12 members to change interest

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Tired of Being Burned by Crypto? Cardano Targets Long‑Term Stability Over Meme Cycles.investment

Tired of Being Burned by Crypto? Cardano Targets Long‑Term Stability Over Meme Cycles.

By Dominic Basulto – May 3, 2026 at 10:30PM ESTKey PointsCardano has always emphasized blockchain governance, security, and stability over quick short-term gains.A new "Vision 2030" strategy seeks to grow Cardano at a much faster pace over the next few years.Despite Cardano's many achievements, it still trades at a 92% discount to its all-time high from 2021.The conventional thinking has always been that the only cryptocurrencies worth investing in are those that are capable of skyrocketing in value. But what if that thinking is all wrong? Instead of plowing money into moonshot meme coins and wildly speculative altcoins, investors might be better off investing in cryptocurrencies that target long-term stability. And there's arguably no more stable cryptocurrency out there than Cardano (ADA +2.51%). What is Cardano, and why should you care? Cardano is a Layer-1 blockchain network, similar to Ethereum (ETH +3.35%). Both have sprawling blockchain ecosystems and have embraced rapidly expanding niches such as decentralized finance (DeFi) as core drivers of their future growth. The co-founder of Cardano, Charles Hoskinson, is an Ethereum co-founder, so both blockchains share the same crypto DNA. What Hoskinson set out to do in 2017 was create a better, more stable, and more secure version of Ethereum. Image source: Getty Images. Instead of embracing short-term, speculative, and highly volatile crypto projects, Cardano has specifically taken a "slower is better" approach to blockchain infrastructure. Better to do it right the first time than to move too fast and break things. So, instead of splashy new product launches, Cardano has focused on less sexy areas, such as blockchain governance. Case in point: while Ethereum launched smart contracts back in 2015, it took Cardano nearly six years to launch smart contracts of its own. In hindsight, that might have been highly prescient. After all, the hyper-inflated decentralized finance (DeFi) bubble created by sma

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The Stock Market Is Facing a Historic Federal Reserve Double Whammy on May 15investment

The Stock Market Is Facing a Historic Federal Reserve Double Whammy on May 15

For the better part of the last seven years, Wall Street's major stock indexes have been unstoppable. The broad-based S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.29%) has rallied at least 16% in six of the last seven years, while the iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.31%) and technology-driven Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.89%) have reached psychologically important levels of 50,000 and 24,000, respectively. Although the annualized return of stocks is unrivaled over the very long term, compared to other asset classes, getting from Point A to B is typically an adventure for investors. Thanks to an impending shift at America's foremost financial institution, the Federal Reserve, the stock market may be readying for one of its wildest rides yet. May 15 will mark Jerome Powell's final day as Fed chair. Image source: Official Federal Reserve Photo. Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh aims to change the central bank's narrative May 15 marks the final day Jerome Powell will serve as head of the Fed. The end of his tenure has been well telegraphed for a year, thanks to an ongoing public feud with President Donald Trump over interest rates. Whereas Trump has repeatedly called on Powell and the other members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to aggressively cut interest rates to 1% (or below), Powell has been steadfast in the idea that economic data will guide the FOMC's policy decisions. Assuming U.S. Senate confirmation, it'll also mark the beginning of the road for Kevin Warsh, whom Trump nominated to succeed Powell as Fed chair. Although Warsh brings five years of experience to the position -- he served on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from Feb. 24, 2006, to March 31, 2011 -- he aims to change the central bank's narrative, to the detriment of the stock market. Kevin Warsh Nomination: one reason why market players are interpreting it as a hawkish pick- I agree-is because of his views on the need for a radical balance sheet reduction. The $31 trillion-dollar American e

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Prediction: The Fate of the Trump Bull Market Has Been Sealed by One Presidential Decisioninvestment

Prediction: The Fate of the Trump Bull Market Has Been Sealed by One Presidential Decision

Putting politics aside, the stock market has excelled with Donald Trump in the White House. During Trump's first term, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.31%), widely followed S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.29%), and growth-stock-dependent Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.89%) gained 57%, 70%, and 142%, respectively. Though it's common for Wall Street's major stock indexes to rise during a presidential term, the annualized gains of the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq under Trump are higher than under most other presidents since the late 1890s. This Trump bull market has yet again gathered steam during his second, non-consecutive term. Since taking office on Jan. 20, 2025, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite have rallied 13%, 20%, and 27%, respectively, as of the closing bell on April 27, 2026. President Trump delivering remarks to Congress. Image source: Official White House Photo. While several catalysts have been tailwinds for this rally, including the rise of artificial intelligence, record S&P 500 share buybacks, and better-than-expected corporate earnings, the fate of the Trump bull market may already be sealed, courtesy of one decision by the president himself. Trump may have already dealt a fatal blow to the bull market he's inspired Roughly two months ago, on Feb. 28, Donald Trump gave the green light for U.S. military forces, along with Israel, to begin attacks against Iran. Although wars are known to heighten uncertainty on Wall Street, it's the far-reaching effects of geopolitical conflict that can halt the Trump bull market in its tracks. Shortly after these military operations commenced, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz to virtually all oil shipping traffic. Approximately 20 million barrels of liquid petroleum traverse the Strait of Hormuz daily, representing 20% of global demand, per the Energy Information Administration. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed to virtually all commercial vessels as of this writing on April 27. Effectively cuttin

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