0:00 The United States goods trade deficit widened to one hundred thirty-four point nine billion dollars in September, driven by a record flood of imported technology hardware.0:09 That's the hard number released by the Commerce Department this morning, making it the largest gap since March 2025.0:15 In Episode 183, we tracked factory orders to see where pressure was building across domestic supply chains.0:21 Now we have the print: capital goods imports jumped seven point five percent in a single month and soared over seventy-seven percent compared to last year.0:30 I'm looking at the breakdown from the Census Bureau right now.0:33 Total goods imports hit a record three hundred forty-four point one billion dollars last month.0:38 The entire surge is concentrated in the machinery powering artificial intelligence infrastructure.0:44 American tech firms are importing foreign-made servers, chips, and power components at a rate domestic manufacturers cannot offset.0:51 That trade gap expanded so fast that private economists estimate it dragged down third-quarter growth by as much as four percentage points.0:59 That trade drag is confirmed on paper; whether robust domestic consumer spending can balance it won't be settled until the government issues its advance gross domestic product report tomorrow.1:09 Across town at the Federal Reserve, the rate-setting committee is concluding its two-day policy session this hour.1:15 Policymakers are widely expected to hold the benchmark interest rate steady in the range of three point seventy-five to four percent.1:23 That pause lands six days before national midterm elections, with Chair Kevin Warsh balancing stubborn inflation against sluggish monthly job gains, after September added just twenty-nine thousand payrolls.1:34 Traders are pricing in a ninety-one percent probability of a hold today, but the expectation for another rate hike in December remains active across Wall Street.1:43 That rate hike is claimed in the futures market, not confirmed policy, and Warsh's afternoon press conference will settle what the board is actually willing to do.1:52 Meanwhile, the Department of Energy finalized a major federal financing deal this morning.1:57 The department closed a five point one billion dollar loan package to Alliant Energy.2:02 That money goes directly toward constructing new natural gas-fired plants and battery storage systems across Iowa and Wisconsin to shore up regional electric grids.2:11 That's the verified picture on the ground.2:13 A traditional list of ten national headlines would mean reciting unconfirmed claims and corporate previews.2:19 Earnings from Alphabet and Microsoft don't cross the wire until after the closing bell, so anyone calling those numbers settled is guessing.2:27 What we can verify right now is that the tech sector's appetite for imported hardware just blew a multi-billion-dollar hole in quarterly trade, while the central bank holds borrowing costs at a four-percent ceiling.2:38 That is the picture from here.2:40 Back to you in the studio.
