Fed Approves Quarter-Point Interest Rate Cut And Sees Two More Coming This Year

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved a widely anticipated rate cut and signaled that two more are on the way before the end of the year as concerns intensified over the U.S. labor market even as inflation is still in the air. In an 11-to-1 vote signaling less dissent than Wall Street had anticipated, the Federal Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point. The decision puts the overnight funds rate in a range between 4.00%-4.25%. Newly installed Governor Stephen Miran was the only policymaker voting against the quarter-point move, instead advocating for a half-point cut.

“Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated” the Fed statement said. “The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that downside risks to employment have risen.” Along with the rate decision, officials in their closely watched “dot plot” of individual expectations pointed to two more cuts before the end of the year. The grid, however, showed a wide level of disparity, with one dot, possibly Miran’s, pointing to a total of 1.25 percentage points in additional reductions this year.

Read more at CNBC

Empire Manufacturing Survey: Modest Decline’ in September

Manufacturing activity declined in New York State after increasing over the summer, according to the September survey. The general business conditions index dropped twenty-one points to -8.7, its first negative reading since June.

• The new orders index declined thirty-five points to -19.6.
• The shipments index fell thirty points to -17.3, the lowest levels for both indexes since April 2024, pointing to significant declines in orders and shipments. Unfilled orders fell.
• The inventories index remained modestly negative at -4.9, indicating that business inventories continued to shrink somewhat.
• The index for number of employees came in at around zero, suggesting that employment was little changed after increasing for the prior three months, while the average workweek index declined to -5.1, pointing to a modest drop in hours worked.
• The prices paid index fell eight points to 46.1, a sign that input price increases slowed but remained steep, while the prices received index was little changed at 21.6, indicating that selling prices continued to rise at a moderate pace.
• The index for future general business conditions came in at 14.8, suggesting that firms expect conditions to improve somewhat in the months ahead.
• New orders and shipments are expected to increase, and supply availability is expected to be little changed.
• The future employment index fell to near zero, suggesting that employment levels are not expected to increase over the next six months.
• Capital spending plans remained soft.

Read more at The BLS

U.S. Industrial Production Inches Slightly Higher In August

Industrial production in the U.S. unexpectedly edged slightly higher in the month of August, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.The Fed said industrial production crept up by 0.1 percent in August after falling by a downwardly revised 0.4 percent in July. The unexpected uptick by industrial production partly reflected a notable rebound by mining output, which jumped by 0.9 percent in August after tumbling by 1.5 percent in July.

The report also said manufacturing output rose by 0.2 percent in August after edging down by 0.1 percent in July, with the production of motor vehicles and parts surging by 2.6 percent. Meanwhile, the Fed said utilities output plunged by 2.0 percent in August after falling by 0.7 percent in the previous month. Capacity utilization in the industrial sector came in at 77.4 percent in August, unchanged from a revised reading in July, the Fed said. While capacity utilization in the mining and manufacturing sectors increased to 90.6 percent and 76.8 percent, respectively, capacity utilization in the utilities sector fell to 68.6 percent.

Read more at Nasdaq

Middle East

• Israel Launches New Ground Offensive Seeking to Force End to Gaza War – WSJ
• Israeli Tanks Push Into Major Gaza City Residential Area - BBC
• Rubio Seeks to Move Beyond Israeli Strike in Qatar That Sparked Diplomatic Row - WSJ
• Iran And European Ministers Make Little Progress As Renewed UN Sanctions Loom, Diplomats Say - Reuters
• What Aspiring Nuclear Powers Learned From Israel’s Strikes on Iran – Foreign Affairs
• EU Proposes Sanctions, Partial Suspension of Israel Trade Deal in Gaza Response - WSJ
• Syria's Sharaa Says Talks With Israel Could Yield Results 'In Coming Days' - Reuters
• Interactive Map- Israel’s Operation In Gaza – Institute For The Study Of War
• Map – Conflicts in the Middle East – Live Universal Awareness Map

Ukraine

• Alexei Navalny’s Wife Says There Is Fresh Evidence He Was Poisoned - WSJ
• First Trump Administration Weapons Package To Ukraine Approved: Report – The Hill
• Trump Finally Calls Russia The ‘Aggressor’ In War On Ukraine – Politico
• Nord Stream Sabotage Suspect To Take Extradition Fight To Italy's Top Court - Reuters
• Belarus And Russia Stage Joint Military Drills - BBC
• Ukraine’s Most Lethal Soldiers – The Atlantic
• Russia’s Central Bank Cuts Key Rate for Third Consecutive Meeting - WSJ
• Interactive Map: Assessed Control Of Terrain In Ukraine – Institute For The Study Of War
• Map – Tracking Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine – Live Universal Awareness Map

Other Headlines

• China Bumps Germany Off The Top 10 List Of Most Innovative Nations – CNN
• King Charles III Gives Donald Trump Royal Welcome On UK State Visit – France 24
• Inside Taiwan's Fight To Protect Its Vital Undersea Cables – Nikkei Asia
• European Central Bank Pauses Again, Further Easing Still Possible – Wells Fargo
• China Auto Price War Rages On Despite Regulatory Crackdown – Nikkei Asia
• Trump Arrives In Britain For Second State Visit - Reuters
• US Designates Colombia As Country 'Failing To Cooperate In Drug War' - BBC
• EU Plans More Sanctions On China - Politico
• America Loves Cocaine Again—Mexico’s New Drug King Cashes In – WSJ

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Siena Poll: Hochul’s lead over Stefanik grows to 25 points

Governor Kathy Hochul’s job approval and favorability ratings are both up a little from last month, and her favorability rating, 45-42% (42-44% in August), is now the best it’s been since January 2024, according to a new Siena Poll of New York State registered voters released today. “While a 45-42% favorability rating for a Democratic governor in a state where nearly half the voters are Democrats may not sound like a major accomplishment, in the case of Governor Hochul, it’s the first time her favorability rating has been positive since April, and it is her best favorability rating since January 2024,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said. Other survey findings include:

• Trump has a 34-61% favorability rating, down from 37-56% in August. His job approval rating stands at 37-62%, down from 41-58% last month.
• New Yorkers are not enamored with the leaders of Congress, even though two of the four are from New York. Senator (and Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer has a 42-45% favorability rating, up from 38-50% in August, his all time low in a Siena Poll. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has a 34-31% favorability rating, down from 38-27% in February. Speaker Mike Johnson has a 23-34% favorability rating, little changed from 22-33% in December 2024. Senate Majority Leader John Thune makes his Siena Poll debut with a 12-25% favorability rating.
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has a 35-56% favorability rating, his worst ever in a Siena Poll, down from 37-47% in August 2024, and 41-37% in October 2023.
• Currently, 42% of voters think New York is on the right track, while 41% say the state is headed in the wrong direction. Up a little from 41-45% last month. But it is the first time this measure has been positive – albeit by a single point – since October 2021, two months after Hochul took office, when it was 44-43%.

Read more at the Siena Poll

Republicans To Reveal Short Term Funding Bill, Testing Democrats In Shutdown Showdown

President Trump on Monday urged Republicans in Congress to unite in support of a “clean” continuing resolution that would avert a government shutdown at the end of the month. GOP leaders are aiming to pass a stopgap spending bill this week that would fund the government at status quo levels through Nov. 20. Republicans have a narrow majority in the House and could pass a short-term funding bill without Democratic support if nearly all of its members are on board.

A key question is how Democrats will vote in the Senate, where Republicans won’t be able to move government funding legislation without support across the aisle. Many Republicans are banking on a do-over of what happened in March, when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer shored up support for a procedural vote on a shutdown-averting package negotiated only among the GOP.

Read more at The Hill

Gallop: Positive Image of Capitalism Slips to 54%, Socialism at 39% in U.S.

Americans are more positive toward capitalism than socialism, but the 54% viewing capitalism favorably is down from 60% in 2021 and near that level in most prior years. Americans remain more negative (57%) than positive (39%) toward socialism, with little movement in these attitudes over time. Gallup first measured Americans’ opinions of various economic systems or aspects of the U.S. economy in 2010 and has repeated the question six times since then, including in an Aug 1-20 survey.

Democrats and independents view capitalism less positively this year, each showing eight-percentage-point declines since 2021. For the first time, less than half of Democrats (42%) view capitalism positively, while a slight majority of independents (51%) still do. Republicans’ views are essentially unchanged, with three-quarters holding a positive opinion. Stability in U.S. adults’ opinions of socialism obscures Democrats’ more positive views of it over time, from 50% rating it positively in the initial 2010 reading to roughly two-thirds in three readings since 2019. Those increases have been mostly offset by declines in positive ratings of socialism among Republicans. Independents’ ratings of socialism have generally been steady.

Read more at Gallop

• Disney to Pull Jimmy Kimmel’s Show After Kirk Remarks – The WSJ
• High School Students' Reading, Math Scores Hit New Low - Newsweek
• Fired BLS Chief Breaks Silence, Calls Her Dismissal a ‘Dangerous Step’ - WSJ
• U.S. Reaches Outline of TikTok Deal With China - WSJ
• Senate Confirms Stephen Miran, Top White House Economist, To Fed Board – The Hill
• Hochul's Climate Commitment Questioned Over Proposed Pipelines In New York – Times Union
• Trump Admin Unshackling Permitting Constraints To Unleash American ‘Energy Dominance’ – Daily Caller
• Trump Set to Reinterpret Arms Treaty to Unlock Drone Sales – New American
• California Lawmakers Pass Bill To Expand Manufacturing Decarbonization Projects – Manufacturing Dive
• How Reducing Federal R&D Reduces GDP Growth - ITIF
• ‘Why Are Yall Sad?’ Teachers, Firefighters, Officials On Leave Or Fired Over Charlie Kirk Posts – The Hill
• Trump Tracker: Keep Tabs On The Latest Announcements And Executive Orders - WSJ

Everyone Hates Colonoscopies—But They’re Not As Bad As They Used To Be

Having a doctor stick a camera up your butt searching for cells that could turn into cancer is never going to be fun. But it’s still the most effective way to screen for colon and rectal cancer, the second deadliest type of cancer in the United States. Regular colonoscopies reduce colorectal cancer incidence by up to 41 percent and slash deaths from the disease in half, according to a study this spring that tracked tens of thousands of Europeans. Even so, nearly 30 percent of Americans eschew the colorectal cancer screens they’re eligible for, including colonoscopies. Some mistakenly think they’re not at risk because they don’t have a family history or physical symptoms—although most cases of colon cancer have neither.

Fortunately, your next colonoscopy should be a lot better. A task force convened by three gastroenterology groups released new medical guidelines for colonoscopy prep this year, updating advice from 2014. The recommendations provide for less restrictive pre-procedure diets and cleanses, which, combined with other advances in the screenings, may sway some of the holdouts. The new guidance will help older people as well as those 45 to 50, who have seen an increase in screening—and in colon cancer rates. The recommended start age for routine screening dropped from 50 to 45 in 2021, and patients typically get tested every 10 years.

Read more at Nat Geo

Upcoming Council Programs

Events

2025 Annual Luncheon - November 21, 2025 -11:00 AM Expo, 12:00 Lunch. The Grandview, Poughkeepsie.

Mfg. Day 2025 - Manufacturing Day will be taking place on Friday, October 3rd. Check out the Mfg Day website to learn more!

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Insight Exchange On Demand Webinars

• Season 1, Episode 10: ONe Big Beautiful Bill Act: What Manufacxturers Need to Know |Presented by RBT CPAs

See previous episodes here!

Webinars and Seminars

Workshop - Identifying and Assessing Gaps in Envir. Health and Safety

In this interactive session attendees will learn how to identify compliance blind spots, drive cultural EHS growth, and make safety a core value in their facility. $45 per person. Presented by Walden Engineering. October 7, 8:30 - 11:30. iPark Fishkill.

Training

Introduction to Lean with Simulation - This full-day Lean Foundations course, led by Vin Buonomo from RIT CQAS, provides a comprehensive introduction to Lean principles, tools, and methodologies. Designed as a starting point for those interested in Lean certification—including Yellow Belt and Green Belt—this program offers participants a hands-on learning experience to understand the impact of Lean concepts on their operations. October 28, 2025 - Location TBD.

Lean Six Sigma: Yellow Belt - Yellow Belt is an approach to process improvement that merges the complementary concepts and tools from both Six Sigma and Lean approaches. The resulting approach will have a greater impact than one that centers on only Six Sigma or Lean. Participants will learn a short history of each approach and how they can complement each other. 3 Full days - November 12, 13 & 14 - DCC Fishkill.

Trade Wars

• The Ongoing U.S.-China Trade War Has Complicated Things For U.S. Chip Giant Nvidia – NPR
• Eli Lilly To Invest $5 Billion In New Virginia Plant As Pharma Braces For Tariffs - Reuters
• Why Many Businesses Haven't Yet Hiked Prices In Response To Tariffs - Marketplace
• Peak Season Freight Trade Bound For U.S. Slows To A Crawl - CNBC
• Hitachi Rail, GKN Aerospace And Other Foreign Firms Move Forward With US Investments – Manufacturing Dive
• Mexico Will Raise Tariffs on Chinese Cars - Reuters
• Britain And US To Sign Nuclear Power Pact During Trump's Visit - Reuters
• FedEx To Levy 5.9% Rate Hike, Higher Surcharges In 2026 – Supply Chain Dive
• South America’s Mercosur Bloc Signs Trade Deal With 4 European Countries – AP

China's Economy Strains In August As Retail Sales, Industrial Output Miss Forecasts

China's factory output growth slowed to its weakest pace in a year in August, while retail sales fell to a nine-month low, keeping pressure on Beijing to roll out more stimulus to fend off a sharp slowdown in growth in the $19 trillion economy. Industrial output grew 5.2% year-on-year, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Monday, the lowest reading since August 2024 and weaker than a 5.7% rise in July. It also missed forecasts for a 5.7% increase in a Reuters poll.

Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, expanded 3.4% in August, the slowest pace since November 2024, and cooling from a 3.7% rise in the previous month. They missed a forecast gain of 3.9%. The disappointing data suggests policymakers will need additional near-term fiscal support to hit their annual growth target of "around 5%," with manufacturers awaiting more clarity on a U.S. trade deal and domestic demand curbed by a wobbly job market and a protracted property crisis.

Read more at Reuters

Machine Tool Orders Slower but Still Ahead

Purchases of capital equipment by U.S. machine shops and other manufacturers fell to $387.3 million in July, down-9.5% from June but still 20.1% higher than the July 2024 result. The strength of the July data drew the year-over-year total into positive territory for the first time in three months, since April 2025, as noted by AMT - the Assn. for Manufacturing Technology. For the January-July period, new orders now total $2.91 billion, which is 14.4% higher than the total for the first seven months of 2024.

AMT suggests that growth in the value of orders obscures that the number of machines sold during July is well below (-13%) the monthly average. “In the absence of widespread inflation among machine tools, this trend underscores the continued importance of automation in current buying trends,” according to AMT’s statement. Five of the six regions summarized have positive year-to-date order totals, with particularly strong improvement seen in the South Central (40.2% YTD), West (38.9%), and North Central-East (15.9%.) Only the North Central-West region (-4.2%) has not improved on its January-July order volume.

Read more at American Machinist

Boeing Steps Up Jet Deliveries, Surpassing 2024 Total By August

Boeing said on last week that it delivered 57 jets in August, up from 48 in July. It was the highest number of deliveries in August since 2018, when the U.S. planemaker handed over 64 airliners. By August 31, the company had delivered 385 jets in 2025, already surpassing its full-year 2024 total of 348 planes. Deliveries last year were hampered in part by a seven-week strike by union workers in the Seattle area, though that stoppage did not begin until September.

Boeing delivered 42 737 MAX jets last month, including seven for low-cost carrier Ryanair and six to United Airlines. The company delivered 14 widebody airliners, including nine 787 Dreamliners, four 777s and one 767. Chinese carriers received nine jets in August, including six 737 MAXs and two 787-9s.Boeing booked 26 gross orders, led by a 14-jet purchase of 777-9 aircraft by Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific. The planemaker also secured orders for five 737 MAXs and seven 787 Dreamliners.

Read more at Reuters

Mercedes-Benz, LG Energy Strike $11B EV Battery Supply Deal

South Korea battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution announced two multi-year electric vehicle battery supply agreements with Mercedes-Benz, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing. The multi-year battery supply agreements, which total 107 gigawatt hours of cells, cover both the EU and U.S. markets and are worth an estimated $11 billion, according to The Korea Economic Daily.

The EU contract is for 32 gigawatt hours of batteries, and the U.S. supply agreement is for an additional 75 GWh of cells. However, according to the filing, both contract amounts and their time periods are subject to change. The EU supply contract is effective as of Sept. 2 and runs through Dec. 31, 2035, while the second, which is listed as a U.S. “Mercedes-Benz affiliate,” begins July 30, 2029, and extends through Dec. 31, 2037. The two contracts are the largest order to date for the company’s cylindrical 46-series cells, according to The Korea Economic Daily.

Read more at Automotive Dive

US Manufacturers Stockpile Inputs To Mitigate Rising Costs

The GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index, a leading economic indicator based on a monthly survey of 27,000 businesses, slipped to -0.39 in August from -0.35 in July, signalling rising spare capacity as global supply chain activity cooled. However, the global figure hides stark regional contrasts. North America was the outlier, as supply chains were running almost to full capacity as companies there looked to stockpile raw materials and components to protect against tariff-driven shortages and delivery delays. This was particularly true of the US consumer goods industry.

Elsewhere, the index in Asia fell to a three-month low. Purchasing activity weakened in China's consumer non-cyclicals sector, but the region's weakness was predominantly across Japan and Taiwan. In Europe, Germany's basic materials sector faltered and, in the UK, manufacturing plunged deeper into contraction. The index here (-0.90) reflected one of the steepest declines since 2024. Michael DuVall, GEP's Global Head Of Supply Chain Strategy, says: "So far, tariffs have neither spurred growth nor triggered collapse. "Tariff uncertainty is no longer a temporary; it's a structural reality in the supply chain. Companies need to manage it by reinvesting in resilience, diversifying suppliers and building critical capabilities like demand sensing to make faster, smarter decisions."

Read more at Procurement

Nikon Partners with U.S. Navy to Expand Maritime Additive Manufacturing

Nikon Advanced Manufacturing Inc., a California-based subsidiary of Nikon SLM Solutions focused on digital manufacturing technologies, is partnering with the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base (MIB) Program to advance additive manufacturing for naval shipbuilding and repair. As part of the initiative, the MIB Program will fund placement of its first ultra-large format Nikon SLM Solutions NXG 600E laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) system at the Nikon AM Technology Center in Long Beach, a state-of-the-art, secure facility dedicated to advanced metal manufacturing.

The Maritime Industrial Base Program is driving revitalization of U.S. Navy shipbuilding through strategic investments in supply chains, workforce development, and advanced manufacturing. These efforts include collaboration with initiatives such as the Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence in Danville, Virginia, where industrial and defense partners are validating additive manufacturing technologies for integration across the Fleet.

Read more at 3D Printing

L3Harris Opens Spacecraft Manufacturing Facility In Florida

In partnership with L3Harris Technologies, The Austin Co. announces the completion of a new spacecraft manufacturing facility with a ribbon cutting for the new 92,000ft2 spacecraft manufacturing facility in Palm Bay, Florida. The state-of-the-art complex will support the Golden Dome for America and the next generation of space systems. The newly completed facility marks a significant milestone in L3Harris' continued investment in advanced aerospace manufacturing. Austin served as the design-build partner, delivering comprehensive services including planning, architecture, engineering, preconstruction, and construction management.

Known as Project LEO, this facility supports the manufacturing of next-generation satellites that will identify, track, and defend against hypersonic and advanced missile threats. It features three expansive high bays with large capacity overhead cranes and unique security requirements. Support spaces and site upgrades include essential amenities, expanded infrastructure, and enhanced security features to streamline operations and modernize the facility.

Read more at Aerospace Manufacturing and Design

Stellantis Sells Engine Maker as it Shifts EV Strategy

Stellantis has agreed to sell an engine-building subsidiary to a group of private investors as part of a wider initiative to refocus its holdings on the electric vehicle sector. VM Motori, headquartered in Cento, Italy, designs and manufactures diesel engines for industrial, marine, and stationary uses. Although electric vehicle demand has slowed in the U.S., the European EV market grew by 24.9% year-over-year during January-June 2025. Now, Stellantis is reemphasizing its electric product development, thus making VM Motori redundant.

Stellantis previously sought to achieve 100% battery-electric vehicle sales in Europe by 2030, and 50% BEV sales in the U.S. by that date. Now, the automaker is seeking to implement “multi-energy” options, including hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles as well as BEVs. It’s also adopting a dual-chemistry battery strategy, new partnerships for charging networks, and more new models in development. The buyer for VM Motori is a private-equity group, Azzurra Capital, that also controls Marval SpA, a precision machining business producing engine parts for offroad and commercial vehicles, including cylinder heads, engine blocks, gears, and components for brake and suspension systems.

Read more at American Machinist

iOS 26: Liquid Glass Is Here and Your iPhone Will Never Be the Same

Picture a still, glassy lake at dawn. Smooth, quiet, serene. Good. We’re calm now—calm enough to face the reality that your iPhone is about to look like a digital fish tank, permanently full of water. Sorry, not water…Liquid Glass. It’s iOS 26, where Apple has draped your icons and menus in a translucent, shimmery look. On Monday, the company rolled out the biggest software overhaul in a decade, and everyone with an iPhone 11 or newer model can get it.

While Apple set out to streamline the design and make it easier on the eyes, the plans sometimes backfired. Core tools and familiar elements are moved, and in some places text is harder to read. Mercifully, some of it can be adjusted. There are also plenty of practical new features that make life better, including a built-in assistant that waits on hold for you, spam text filtering and helpful messaging tricks. As always, my annual advice holds—maybe now more than ever: If you’re concerned about bugs or battery life, wait a bit before you update.

Read more at MSN

Quote of the Day

“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”

Samuel Johnson - British Writer, author of the "The Dictionary of the English Language," who was born on this day in 1709.

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