A Win for Independence. This week may be a short one, but it started off with a bang.
After months of waiting, the Supreme Court finally issued a ruling on Monday that rejected Trump's bid to fire a sitting member of the Federal Reserve.
The decision, which was widely expected, didn't move markets much. Instead, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally closed above the 52,000 thanks to Alphabet officially joining its ranks -- a move that helped boost the index amid a wider tech rally.
The Dow closed up 306 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 rose 1.2%. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 2.1%.
As if a historic Supreme Court case decision and a record-setting day weren't enough to start the week, Comcast announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky from its mobile and broadband business this morning.
My colleague Andrew Bary writes that the Comcast spinoff action is likely favorable for shareholders and, if bulls are right, could generate more upside.
Wall Street has been hoping for such a move for several years given the conglomerate discount on Comcast -- disparate businesses under one roof tend to trade at a discount to a sum-of-the-parts valuation -- and a lack of clear synergies between the two main Comcast businesses.
The announcement has also sparked speculation about a combination of Comcast and Charter Communications. That could be just the tip of the iceberg that when it comes to further dealmaking, but there are risks for investors that can't be ignored.
Read Andrew's full analysis here.
The Hot Stock: Corning Inc +15.7% The Biggest Loser: Super Micro Computer, Inc -8.1%
Best Sector: Communication Services +3.1% Worst Sector: Materials -1.86%
Supreme Court Gives Fed the Upper Hand
The Supreme Court has blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to remove a sitting member of the Federal Reserve, cutting off the easiest route the administration had to interfere with the central bank's operations.
In a 5-4 decision issued Monday, the Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' rulings that Fed Governor Lisa Cook could continue serving at the central bank as her legal case challenging her potential termination moves forward.
The narrow ruling -- which wasn't a surprise after justices expressed skepticism about the government's case during oral arguments in January -- provides the central bank with more robust protection than it seems at first glance. It severely curtails the ability of a president to quickly remove Federal Reserve officials, and thereby exert the executive branch's influence over monetary policy. It also reinforces the independence of the central bank.
"With today's ruling, the Supreme Court shut down the fastest path the White House had for getting control over interest rates," says Claudia Sahm, a former Fed economist now serving as chief economist for New Century Advisors.
A decision in favor of President Trump would have allowed him to remove any Fed official at will, providing the administration an opportunity to install its own supporters on the board.
That's off the table now, Sahm says. Monday's ruling keeps Cook at the Fed until a lower court rules on merits of the case. "The fight over Fed independence isn't over. It is now being waged on the Fed's terms," Sahm said.
Cook launched her legal battle on Aug. 28 of last year, after Trump attempted to remove her from the Fed, alleging she made false claims on mortgage documents prior to her term at the central bank that may have secured her more favorable loan terms.
She argued that her removal violated her right to due process, and that the government hadn't provided sufficient evidence to merit a removal "for cause," as required.
In Monday's decision, the Court found the government hadn't proved it was likely to prevail against Cook. The Court further rejected the government's "halfhearted contention" that she received due process. "At minimum, Cook was entitled to some explanation of the evidence at issue, some avenue for a response, and a deadline by which a response would be due," the opinion noted.
The Calendar
Constellation Brands and Nike report earnings tomorrow.
S&P Cotality releases its Case-Shiller National Home Price Index for April. Home prices rose 0.7% year over year in March, the slowest rate of growth since June of 2023. Chicago, New York, and Cleveland lead with increases of 3% or more, while Denver, Tampa, and Dallas saw declines of around 2%.
The Conference Board releases its Consumer Confidence Index for June. Consensus estimate is for a 94.3 reading, about one point more than in May.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Job Openings and Turnover Survey. Economists forecast 7.3 million job openings on the last business day of May, roughly 300,000 less than in April.
What We're Reading Today
-- Why Housing Stocks Have Been on a Tear While the Mag 7 Suffer
-- AI Comes To the Permian. Two Gas Stocks and One Pipeline Play To
Consider.
-- These Household Names Are Dividend Kings. They're Rock-Solid for Income.
-- From AI to Bargains, There Are Reasons Not to Give Up on Retail Stocks
-- Quantum Cold War: Does the U.S. or China Have the Upper Hand?
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June 29, 2026 19:55 ET (23:55 GMT)
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