Kevin Warsh confirmed as Fed chair 54-45 by the US Senate, takes over from Powell on Friday

 Kevin Warsh wins Senate confirmation as the next Federal Reserve chair

... In the most divisive vote ever for a Fed chair, Warsh, 56, won confirmation to take over for Jerome Powell, who has served in the top leadership position since 2018 and whose term will expire Friday.

The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Warsh, ending a months long saga that began in the summer of 2025 and included an extensive search for Powell’s successor. The vote was almost completely along party lines, with only Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman crossing over to vote for Warsh, who becomes the 11th Fed chair of the modern banking era.

Powell will stay on at the Fed as he has two years left in his term as governor. ... 

For May 3-11, tanker transits through the Strait of Hormuz have been averaging 1.2/day, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait 13.4/day

 Per the JMIC Updates 43 and 44.

CNBC doesn't really want to talk about how bad April's increase in wholesale prices was, doesn't mention the year over year increase to core, stripping out food and energy, at 5.2%

 Wholesale inflation jumps 6% in April on annual basis, biggest increase since 2022

... The producer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% for the month, much higher than the 0.5% Dow Jones consensus forecast and the upwardly revised 0.7% March increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. This was the largest monthly gain since March 2022.

On an annual basis, the index was up 6%, the biggest increase since December 2022.

Excluding food and energy, the core PPI accelerated 1%, compared with the 0.4% estimate. ...

While much of the inflation move has been attributed to the war and President Donald Trump’s tariffs that were introduced a year ago, the PPI data shows the price pressures were broad-based. ...

I'll say.

Looks to me like producers giving us all the middle finger. 

I expect new record high corporate profits. 

 

 

Adjusted for consumer price index inflation since October 2019, a traditional American breakfast should cost you 29.4% more in April 2026, instead it's 54.9% more!

29.4% more is bad enough, right? 

The ingredients for a traditional American breakfast in April 2026, adjusted for consumer price index inflation since October 2019, should cost $29.91.

Instead they cost $35.79, $23.11 plus 54.9%.

Menu: Bacon and eggs, whole wheat toast with butter, coffee with milk and sugar, and a glass of orange juice.

The Biden high for all this was $33.20 in January 2023.

The all-time high to date was in March 2025 under Trump at $37.67.

The April 2026 Trump price is still 7.8% higher than the Biden high three-plus years ago.