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- Fed lowers GDP estimate to 1.7% due to tariffs, keeps rates unchanged, as Trump asks for cuts
Fed lowers GDP estimate to 1.7% due to tariffs, keeps rates unchanged, as Trump asks for cuts
Bay Area Times
March 20, 2025
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Top stories today:
- Fed lowers GDP estimate to 1.7% due to tariffs, keeps rates unchanged
- EU continues crackdown against Apple, Google under DMA
- OpenAI o1-Pro’s API debuts as its most expensive model yet
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1. Fed lowers GDP estimate to 1.7% due to tariffs, keeps rates unchanged, as Trump asks for cuts
Inflation now expected at 2.7% for 2025, from 2.5%.
“That’s really due to the tariffs coming in,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said.
President Trump again explicitly called for the Fed to cut rates, challenging the tradition of Fed independence
11 of 19 Fed officials expect at least 2 rate cuts in 2025, down from 15 in Dec.
Higher unemployment and weaker growth projected by the officials than they had anticipated in Dec.
“[I]nflation coming in from an exogenous source,” Powell said.
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3. EU continues crackdown against Apple, Google under DMA despite Trump threat
Representational image generated using OpenAI’s DALL-E.
Apple ordered to open up iOS connectivity features to 3rd-party devices.
Interoperability requests from app developers for Apple’s iOS and iPadOS features were also a concern.
“Wrap[s] us in red tape,” Apple said.
Google Search favored its services over rivals, preliminary findings noted.
Whether Google made it hard for developers to “steer” users outside its app store, regulators questioned.
“[W]ill hurt European businesses and consumers, hinder innovation, weaken security, and degrade product quality,” Google said.
