Market and Politics Report- End-September 2025

 

Market and Politics Report- End-September 2025 

How long do government shutdowns last? What history shows : NPR

What a busy end to September. From a government shutdown to shifting of the Fed's policy, there is a lot to debrief in this Market and Politics Report.

Fed lowers rates by a quarter point

On September 17, 2025, Fed Chair Powell announced that the Fed would lower interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, bringing the interest rate down to 4.00%-4.25%. This was highly anticipated, as for months, many Republicans and fiscal conservatives have been urging Powell to lower rates, thereby increasing consumer spending and investment and spurring economic growth. Additionally, Republicans, led by President Trump, have called for Powell's ouster at the end of his term as Fed chair in 2026, likely prompting Powell to act. The Fed and Powell have been hesitant to do so, due to concerns about potential inflationary downsides. However, in response to increasing public outcry, as well as a shaky labor market and slowing inflation, the Fed acted accordingly.

What is Gross Domestic Product, and what does it measure?

On September 25, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Q2 GDP Report. The report detailed that annual growth is at 3.8%, which is an incredible rebound from the -0.6% yearly growth rate detailedreported repQ1hange can likely be attributed to the increase in consumer spending, especially in the financial services and transportation industries, as well as the decrease in imports, which reversed the effects and shock of Trump's reciprocal tariffs felt last quarter. Due to this, currently, it is apps that aren't the economy's health is in good condition. If that this trend continues in the following quarter, we will likely end the strong economic position domestically, both ddomestically and internationally

Government shutdown 2025: A guide to what's still open, what's closed and what's fuzzy

On October 1st, due to the failure of Congress to pass a Republican-proposed seven-week stopgap funding measure, as well as the Democrats' resolution, which included an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, the Federal government went into a shutdown. This has been met with anger from both sides, with the Trump Administration acting to cut some Democratic projects from the government. It will likely be a couple of weeks before both sides can come to an agreement on what legislation should be passed and become part of the Federal budget.

Q&A: Do Politics and Economics Go Hand in Hand?

That was a thorough debrief of the end of September. Stay tuned for our next post in mid-October!


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