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Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin said on Tuesday he will follow a wait-and-see approach regarding central bank interest rate policy until it is clear inflation is returning to the Fed's 2% target. Current uncertainty, whether driven by trade and other policy changes coming from the Trump administration or other factors, "argues for caution as we look to wrap up the inflation fight," Barkin said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Rotary Club of Richmond. "It’s hard to make significant monetary policy changes amid such uncertainty," Barkin said.

Semiconductors are the silicon backbone of the digital revolution. But they’re also susceptible to economic fluctuations as chip demand will ebb and flow with capital spending. Unfortunately, the market seems to be predicting a downturn as the industry has tumbled by 8.4% over the past six months. This performance is a far cry from the S&P 500’s 6% ascent.

Unemployment rate for recent graduates has improved in recent months, even though it remains higher than the unemployment rate for all workers. Here's where those jobs are at.

Even if they go mostly unnoticed, industrial businesses are the backbone of our country. But they are at the whim of volatile macroeconomic factors that influence capital spending (like interest rates), and the market seems convinced that demand will slow. Due to this bearish outlook, the industry has tumbled by 2% over the past six months. This drawdown was disappointing since the S&P 500 climbed 5.9%.

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin said the central bank must remain determined in its inflation fight and flagged the risk of longer-term inflationary headwinds. Most Read from BloombergNYC’s Congestion Pricing Pulls In $48.6 Million in First MonthNYC to Shut Migrant Center in Former Hotel as Crisis EasesThe Trump Administration Takes Aim at Transportation ResearchDC Mayor Re-ups Call for Statehood as Trump Threatens TakeoverShelters Await Billions in Federal M

To be fair, the move has little to do with crypto itself; values are down because of a feared trade war and waning consumer confidence. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has been the biggest headline maker, falling 8.2% over the past 24 hours as of 11:45 a.m. ET. Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is down 9.2% over that time, and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) is off 9.1%.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence survey registered its biggest decline since 2021 in February.