The Fed, and economy, can still afford to wait patiently amid tariff uncertainty

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📢 The Fed — and economy — can still afford to wait patiently amid tariff uncertainty: Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he doesn't know anyone who is confident in their forecast these days. But what he did say with assurance was that the central bank will be ready to respond once the tariff uncertainty becomes enacted policy. In a message that reassured the market, and to a certain extent the White House, Powell appeared to take lessons from the Fed's pandemic response. Yahoo Finance reports.

🏦 Wall Street rallies after Fed keeps rates unchanged: U.S. stocks rallied on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged as widely expected, and the central bank and investors continue to gauge how President Donald Trump's tariff policies affect the economy and inflation. Reuters reports.

👟 Nike to post worst revenue fall in 5 years on stagnant demand: Nike is expected to post its steepest revenue decline in nearly five years in its quarterly results on Thursday, as its new products failed to open the wallets of Americans reluctant to snap up non-essential items like sporting goods and clothing. Reuters reports.

📦 Parcel and cargo delivery company FedEx will be reporting earnings today after market close: The company missed analysts’ revenue expectations by 0.7% last quarter, reporting revenues of $21.97 billion, flat year on year. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates. Yahoo Finance reports.

💾 Shares of Microchip Technology fell more than 3% on Wednesday, after the chipmaker announced plans to raise capital by offering $1.35 billion of convertible stock. The shares, which had closed up 0.7% at $54.57, dropped 3.2% to $52.79 in after-hours trading. Microchip has a market value of about $29 billion with 537.82 million shares outstanding. Reuters reports.

🔧 Nvidia to invest billions in US chip production over four years: The chipmaker plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S.-made chips and electronics over the next four years. The company expects to spend around half-a-trillion dollars on electronics during the four-year period, according to the report. Reuters reports.

💡 SoftBank to acquire chip designer Ampere in $6.5 billion deal: SoftBank Group said Wednesday that it will acquire Ampere Computing, a startup that designed an Arm-based server chip, for $6.5 billion. The Japanese giant expects the deal to close in the second half of 2025, according to a statement. CNBC reports.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time)
Benzinga reports.

1) $SAG: SAG Holdings
Total gain: +88.14%

2) $OPTN: OptiNose
Total gain: +61%

3) $PRA: ProAssurance
Total gain: +50%

4) $IMG: CIMG
Total gain: +36.75%

5) $MSN: Emerson Radio
Total gain: +27.24%

*Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars


NKE: Nike
3Q 2025
After Market Close
Estimate: 0.280
Actual: N/A

MU: Micron Technology
2Q 2025
After Market Close
Estimate: 1.970
Actual: N/A

FDX: FedEx
3Q 2025
After Market Close
Estimate: 4.720
Actual: N/A

Time (ET) / Report / Period

8:30 AM - Initial jobless claims - March 15
8:30 AM - Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey - March
10:00 AM - Existing home sales - February

"The miracle of compounding returns is overwhelmed by the tyranny of compounding costs."

​- Jack Bogle

Sourced in:
“The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee
Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns”, by Jack Bogle, published in 2007