← The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson
BOOM! Inflation's Biggest Drop in Years Shakes the Narrative
00:14:09
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Podcast Host
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
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Donald Trump
But we're gonna hit him very hard tonight. We're gonna hit him very hard tomorrow night. We're gonna hit him very hard the night after. And then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We're gonna knock out all their power plants. We're gonna knock out all their bridges. Un unless they get to the table and negotiate.
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Ben Ferguson
You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
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Good Wednesday morning. Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got two big stories for you. First up, the media and the economists. Yeah, they got it wrong. Inflation numbers are out and it was a big drop. In fact, the biggest drop in inflation in six years. So where is it now? And how did the economists and everyone else get it wrong? Could it be it's just because they hate Donald Trump? We'll explain it to you. Also, the president has a major update on the Strait of Hormuz. And it now means that those tolls that were promised that were going to be paid, they may be disappearing because of a new deal. It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now. Story number one, all 67 economists got Donald Trump's inflation report wrong. That's right, America. They want you to believe the economy is terrible, but real inflation, it just dropped by 0.4%. That is the biggest drop in six years. Bloomberg surveyed 67 economists and 67 of those economists, like I said, got it wrong. Now, the latest consumer price index shows that inflation cooled much more than the analysts had expected. Consumer prices falling 0.4% from the previous month. Again, that is the largest monthly decline since the early months of the COVID 19 pandemic. Now, while the annual inflation rate slowed also to 3.5, down from 4.2 in May, economists had generally expected inflation to, well, somewhat cool, but not this much and certainly not this, this fast. Now, the financial markets, they reacted quickly. Stocks moved higher, treasury yields fell. And investors increased expectations that the Federal Reserve could leave interest rates unchanged in the near term because inflation came in cooler than forecasted by all the quote, unquote experts. Now, much of the improvement came from lower energy costs. Gasoline prices dropped sharply during June, contributing significantly to the overall decline in inflation. And while lower FUE prices were the biggest driver, the report also showed that core inflation, now that includes food and energy, was essentially flat for the month and slowed to 2.6% over the past year. That's not just good news. That is great news for all Americans. As for President Trump, this report is an opportunity for him to argue that the economy is moving in the right direction. Under his administration and throughout the year, he had maintained that inflation would come down while economic growth remained resilient. And today's report supports the view that inflation ease more than many forecasters had anticipated. You got to ask yourself the question, is it because the media and the economists, they hate President Trump and they want him to have a big loss in the midterm elections. That's why they keep preaching doom and gloom, even though, I'll say it again, this is the biggest inflation drop in six years. Now, what this also means, and it's also very important for you to understand that this report represents meaningful progress compared with the elevated inflation reading seen earlier this year. When you have lower monthly inflation, that can translate into less pressure on household budgets. And it also reduces the need for additional interest rate increases. If the trend continued. The bottom line is this. Today's inflation report came in much better than expected. That's why the media is not going to be talking about it. And if it was a bad report, it would have been leading the news on every channel. But now they don't want you to know this. Now, the markets, they also welcome the news. It also strengthened the argument that inflation pressures ease significantly during June, could be a real sign of what's to come. Now, whether this marks the beginning of a lasting trend, it's going to depend on the future reports. It's going to depend on energy prices and broader economic conditions. But one thing is for sure, today's data shows that we're undeniably stronger as a country than all the economists talking to Bloomberg had anticipated. And the reason why is because President Donald Trump continues to push policies, and that put the American worker ahead of everyone else.
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Next story number two.
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The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most strategically important waterways on Earth. That's why we're talking about it so much. As I've said before, about one fifth of the world's oil supply normally passes through the shipping lane each and every day. President Donald Trump has continued now to escalate pressure on Iran while also adjusting parts of his strategy.
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Donald Trump
And.
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Ben Ferguson
And today Trump said no country should be charging ships a fee to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, backing away from that earlier proposal for a US Imposed transit fee. Now, I'm going to have more on that in a moment. But the military situation remains extremely tense. The United States has continued intense strikes against the Iranian military targets. After accusing Tehran of violating previous understandings and threatening shipping throughout the Persian Gulf. Iranian forces have also responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Gulf region facilities and maritime traffic, keeping the entire region well on edge. Now, one of the biggest concerns right now is still very much commercial shipping. Major shipping companies are continuing to monitor the situation carefully and, and vessel traffic through the strait has slowed significantly. Why? Because the insurers and the cargo companies and the tanker operators are now weighing the real growing risk from Iran. Every reduction in shipping raises concerns about higher energy prices and potential supply disruptions if the conflict worsens. Meanwhile, Iran's political leadership is also signaling that it intends to maintain, quote, unquote, their pressure. According to new reports, lawmakers in Tehran are advancing legislation related to Iranians control over the Strait of Hormuz. That is a move that analysts believe is intended to both strengthen Iran's negotiating position and also demonstrate resolve domestically and send a clear message, the US and the Middle east that they're not done fighting. Now, from Washington, the Trump administration is continuing to argue that freedom of navigation must be protected and that Iran cannot be allowed to threaten one of the world's most important maritime choke points. Now, military analysts also say the United States now faces two, well, simultaneous objectives. Number one, protect international shipping. And then number two, to prevent the conflict from expanding into a broader regional war involving additional countries that Iran would love to bring into the mix. Now, these goals are becoming increasingly difficult. Why? Because Iran continues to act more and more erratic each and every day. Now, the financial markets are also watching every development closely. And this does have an impact on you and your family's budget. Oil prices have climbed sharply amid the renewed fears of supply disruptions. And investors are trying to determine whether this becomes a prolonged confrontation or whether diplomacy can eventually reduce tensions. Even rumors surrounding the Strait of Hormuz can move global markets instantly because of its enormous importance to international energy. Now, President Trump has also made it clear that he believes America's role in protecting international shipping has come at significant cost to the United States of America. And that's why he talked about having a proposed transit fee. Well, let's talk about what has happened with that in the last 24 hours. Now, President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday afternoon that he has now decided to replace his proposed 20% reimbursement fee on cargo ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz with trade and investment deals involving Gulf states, while maintaining a blockade on ships traveling to or from Iranian ports or carrying Iranian cargo that would include their oil Quote, oil is flowing like never before thanks to the awesome power the United States military. Trump said on True Social. He credited the Secretary of War, Pete Headseth, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the U.S. central Command and American service members for the victory. Trump said the straight of Hormuz is open to all ships traffic except for Iran, blaming Tehran, saying they're lying, violent and malicious leadership for placing the country on a path towards, quote, total destruction. The President saying we will therefore have a full blockade, but only on ships coming to and from Iranian ports or carrying anything that has to do with Iranian cargo. The President announced then that he would replace that 20% fee that he proposed Monday to reimburse the United States for protecting international shipping through the waterway was something different, saying, quote, based on highly productive conversations with Middle east leadership, I've decided to replace the 20% United States reimbursement fee with trade and investment deals that the various Gulf states will be making into the United States of America. The President also described the planned investment as massive and said they would also be extraordinarily good for the Gulf states and their futures as well. As everyone is aware, we have the largest dollar investment into the United States of any country in history. But these new investments will make the number even larger and we will see factories, plants and equipment pour into the United States at historic levels which will then create additional millions of high paying American jobs. The President said America is winning again, winning like never before. The days of Iran killing hundreds of thousands of people, including 52,000 protesters, are over. And most importantly, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon now. Trump's announcement also came after US Forces carried out a five hour mission targeting Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and and maritime capabilities to further degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping. U.S. central Command said the strikes hit military targets across Iran, including many areas that were very close to where the shipping channel is now. Trump had declared the ceasefire over and said the United States would take over the Strait of Hormuz and become its guardian. Trump first announced that 20% reimbursement on Monday, declaring that the United States and the Strait of Hormuz would be open and it will remain open with or without Iran. And that is when he said the United States was reinstating that Iranian blockade, which would only stop Iran ships or customers from entering or leaving. While all other countries would have fair and open use of the Strait. Trump said the United States would expect to be reimbursed for protecting international shipping and at that rate of 20% on all cargo ships. Now the president has clearly changed that. Now here's what's happened when it comes to the price, the pump oil prices have risen 4% in early trading on Monday going into Tuesday. Goldman Sachs came out and warned that the renewed escalation would increase short term risk of higher prices by further disrupting Gulf exports. And that is exactly why the president's made it clear that in America we, we have to continue to drill, baby, drill. One thing is for sure, the president is being very proactive right now making sure that Iran doesn't hold the world hostage. And also the President says the US Will knock out Iran's power plants and bridges next week unless the regime makes a deal. Take a listen to what the President had to say in his own words.
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Interviewer
Strikes were seen this week against Iran will expand. Are you considering hitting energy targets or other locations inside of Iran?
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Donald Trump
I'll save the energy targets for last. But ultimately we'll hit energy targets. Yeah, but we're going to hit them very hard tonight. We're going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We're going to hit them very hard the night after. And then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants, next week comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.
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Interviewer
Do you believe the Iranians are serious about making a deal?
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Donald Trump
I think they have no choice.
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Interviewer
Why haven't they yet?
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Donald Trump
I think if I didn't do the way I'm doing, they would never make a deal.
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Ben Ferguson
So there's the President in his own words saying that next week the US Will knock out Iran's power plants and bridges unless the regime makes a deal. We'll obviously keep you updated on all of this.
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Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast and we will see you back here tomorrow.