Market Beats | US GDP Growth Revised Up to 3.3% in Q2; Fed Governor Cook Sues Trump Over Firing Attempt; DeSantis Pushes Property Tax Overhaul in Florida; Trump’s Pressure on Nuclear Regulator Triggers Talent Exodus; Wall Street Analysts Stay Bullish on Nvidia; Newsom Deploys Highway Patrol as Trump Threatens National Guard in California

—— US GDP Growth Revised Up to 3.3% in Q2; Fed Governor Cook Sues Trump Over Firing Attempt; DeSantis Pushes Property Tax Overhaul in Florida; Trump’s Pressure on Nuclear Regulator Triggers Talent Exodus; Wall Street Analysts Stay Bullish on Nvidia; Newsom Deploys Highway Patrol as Trump Threatens National Guard in California

1. US GDP Growth Revised Up to 3.3% in Q2

The US economy expanded faster than initially reported in the second quarter, fueled by stronger business investment and an outsized boost from trade.

Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) rose at a 3.3% annualized pace, compared with the 3% advance first estimated, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday. Business investment grew at a 5.7% rate, well above the earlier 1.9% estimate, reflecting upward revisions to transportation equipment spending and the strongest gain in intellectual property products in four years.

The rebound followed a contraction in the first quarter — the first since 2022 — as companies rushed to import goods ahead of tariff increases. Looking ahead, the economy is expected to grow modestly as households and firms adjust to President Donald Trump’s trade policies. Another key measure, gross domestic income (GDI), surged 4.8% after a mere 0.2% increase in the first quarter.

Following the data, the dollar extended losses while two-year Treasury yields edged higher. Traders still largely expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its September 16–17 meeting.

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2. Fed Governor Cook Sues Trump Over Firing Attempt

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, challenging his attempt to remove her from office on claims she falsified mortgage applications, setting up a historic clash over the independence of the US central bank.

Cook filed the case Thursday in federal court in Washington, seeking an emergency order to block Trump’s move while the case proceeds. Her term runs through 2038. According to the complaint, Trump’s effort “would subvert the Federal Reserve Act, which explicitly requires ‘cause’ for a Governor’s removal — and an unsubstantiated allegation about private mortgage applications submitted prior to her Senate confirmation is not cause.”

The lawsuit escalates tensions between the White House and the Fed, which has resisted Trump’s repeated demands to slash interest rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has also resisted Trump’s calls to resign. Investors fear the attempt could undermine the long-standing assumption of Fed independence, a cornerstone of US markets and its credit ratings.

Trump days earlier posted a letter on social media declaring Cook’s “immediate removal” over “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter.” Cook, however, has not been formally investigated or charged with wrongdoing.

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3. DeSantis Pushes Property Tax Overhaul in Florida

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is pursuing perhaps his riskiest initiative yet: a campaign to largely eliminate property taxes, which fund essential services such as schools and police.

Over nearly seven years in office, DeSantis has enacted sweeping conservative changes — from reshaping education to restricting abortion and backing Trump’s deportation efforts. Now, his push to slash property taxes could cement his standing as a GOP leader and strengthen his case for future national ambitions.

The move, however, raises major fiscal concerns in a state without an income tax. In Miami-Dade County alone, property taxes account for more than a third of the operating budget. To address the funding challenge, DeSantis and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia have launched a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). They’ve begun a “local government accountability tour,” targeting alleged waste in municipal budgets.

Officials, many in Democratic-led districts, have been threatened with fines, subpoenas, cuts in state funds, and even criminal probes if they don’t comply.

While the exact proposal is still being developed, DeSantis has made it clear that the initiative is directly linked to eliminating or dramatically reducing property taxes — a policy framed around deep distrust of local governments and their spending practices, particularly after pandemic-era real estate booms boosted their revenues.

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4. Trump’s Pressure on Nuclear Regulator Triggers Talent Exodus

According to the Financial Times, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is facing an unprecedented wave of resignations, raising safety concerns for the nation’s nuclear future.

Since Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, almost 200 employees have left the NRC, including its head of nuclear security and general counsel. Nearly half of the 28-member senior leadership team now holds only “acting” titles, while just three out of five commissioner seats are filled. Trump fired Commissioner Christopher Hanson in June, and Annie Caputo resigned unexpectedly last month.

Former NRC deputy executive director Scott Morris described the situation as “unprecedented,” warning that replacing seasoned nuclear safety experts with politically motivated appointees is a “dangerous game” that could create hidden risks, only surfacing years later. Nearly two dozen new reactors are under development in the US.

While some departures were initially driven by lucrative private-sector opportunities amid the nuclear energy boom, the exodus accelerated sharply after the Trump administration’s repeated attacks on the agency’s independence.

Since taking office, Trump has moved to assert direct presidential control over independent regulators, undermining safeguards that Congress designed to shield such bodies from political interference.

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5. Wall Street Analysts Stay Bullish on Nvidia

Even though Nvidia Corp.’s revenue outlook fell short of some investors’ lofty expectations, Wall Street analysts remain overwhelmingly positive, raising their price targets.

At least 10 firms increased their 12-month targets after Wednesday’s results, lifting the average by 3% to $202.60, Bloomberg data showed — suggesting about 12% upside from the prior close.

JPMorgan’s Harlan Sur reiterated his Overweight rating, boosting his target 26% to $215, citing strong momentum from the ramp-up of Blackwell AI chips. “We believe Nvidia’s forward order book continues to outstrip supply,” he said.

Nvidia projected about $54 billion in fiscal third-quarter revenue, matching the Street’s consensus but short of some bullish forecasts above $60 billion. Truist Securities analyst William Stein raised his target by 9% to $228, describing the shortfall as “a minor imperfection” compared with management’s resilient long-term outlook.

Shares briefly erased premarket losses after CEO Jensen Huang said in a Fox News interview that Nvidia will sell Blackwell chips to China and share a portion of revenue with the US government.

Wall Street remains firmly bullish: 72 buy-equivalent ratings, seven holds, and just one sell. Since reporting first-quarter results in May, Nvidia’s shares have surged about 35%, adding more than $1 trillion to its market value.

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6. Newsom Deploys Highway Patrol as Trump Threatens National Guard in California

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday he is deploying California Highway Patrol officers across major cities, responding to President Donald Trump’s threats to send the National Guard into San Francisco and neighboring Oakland.

The CHP officers will work alongside local law enforcement in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area, according to the governor’s office. A spokesperson didn’t specify how many officers would be sent or for how long.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to expand National Guard deployment beyond Washington, DC, to other large, Democratic-led cities. He previously placed the DC Police Department under federal control and ordered about 2,000 troops to patrol the capital. Cities singled out included Chicago, Baltimore, Oakland, and San Francisco.

In June, Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles during immigration raids and anti-deportation protests — the first time in decades a president deployed the Guard to a US city without a request from state or local authorities. Nearly all of those troops were demobilized by the end of July, Newsom’s office said.

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7. Apple to Unveil iPhone 17 Lineup at Sept. 9 Launch Event

Fourteen years after Marc Andreessen declared that “software is eating the world,” artificial intelligence has flipped the script — with investors betting that large parts of the software sector may now be the ones consumed.

Salesforce, Adobe and ServiceNow are among the worst S&P 500 performers this year, each down at least 17% and erasing a combined $160 billion in market value. According to EPFR data, software and services funds saw outflows in two consecutive months through June, compared with only one monthly pullback in the prior 18. A Morgan Stanley SaaS basket has fallen over 6% this year, while the Nasdaq 100 is up 11%. Companies like Asana, Hubspot, Bill Holdings and Vertex are among the hardest hit, each down more than 29%.

Investors see AI as an imminent threat to firms providing code for digital services like CRM and back-office functions. “Tech obsolescence can come out of nowhere,” said Robert Ruggirello, CIO at Brave Eagle Wealth Management. “There’s good reason people are growing cautious.”

Still, some software players are thriving. Microsoft, Oracle and Palantir are outperforming as they aggressively leverage AI.

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