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The Dow and S&P 500 are expected to open lower, with movers including Trump Media, Tesla, Walgreens, and more. Bitcoin is on the rise, while the Federal Reserve rates remain unchanged.

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The Dow and S&P 500 are expected to open lower, with movers including Trump Media, Tesla, Walgreens, and more. Bitcoin is on the rise, while the Federal Reserve rates remain unchanged.


Dow and S&P 500 to open lower; Trump Media, Tesla, Walgreens among top movers; Bitcoin on the rise as Fed rates remain unchanged.,

U.S. stock futures dipped early Thursday after the S&P 500 closed at a new record high, snapping a three-day losing streak.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq 100 futures all pointed 0.1% lower ahead of the open on the last trading day of the quarter.

Investors are still awaiting Friday’s core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data for a potentially significant update in the Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation. Markets are pricing in three rate cuts this year, beginning in June, but the data could shift those expectations, particularly if inflation comes in hot.

Ahead of core PCE, markets were given a reality check regarding those rate aspirations as Fed Governor Christopher Waller said there was “no rush” to cut rates. Waller even suggested fewer rate cuts may be needed in light of strong labor market and inflation data in recent months.

“It is appropriate to reduce the overall number of rate cuts or push them further into the future in response to the recent data,” Waller said in a speech at the Economic Club of New York.

However, investors appear to be seeing the positives of the economic strength, and potential boost it brings to corporate earnings as the S&P 500 notched a new all-time closing high–its 21st of the year.

“Despite the fact that inflation has remained stubbornly high, investors are more impressed with the state of the economy and the resilient consumer than they are worried about Fed rate cuts being pushed farther into the future,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance said Wednesday.

“If the economy continues to expand and corporate profits keep growing with it, the stock market will keep moving higher, even in the absence of rate cuts,” he added.

It’s been a stellar quarter of the stock market, the S&P 500 has climbed 10% and is on pace for its best first quarter since 2019, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It’s up a remarkable 22.4% over the past two quarters–the largest two-quarter gain since late 2020.

### FAQ:

1. **What impact could the core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data have on the Federal Reserve’s decisions regarding interest rates?**
– The core PCE data could potentially shift market expectations for rate cuts, especially if inflation comes in higher than anticipated.

2. **How is the stock market reacting to Fed Governor Christopher Waller’s comments about rate cuts?**
– Investors seem to be focusing more on the strength of the economy and corporate earnings potential rather than immediate rate cut expectations.

3. **Why is the S&P 500 reaching new record highs despite concerns about inflation?**
– The market is reflecting confidence in the economy’s growth and corporate profitability, driving the S&P 500 to continue its upward trend.

4. **What milestones has the S&P 500 achieved in recent quarters?**
– The S&P 500 has seen significant gains in the past two quarters, marking its largest two-quarter gain since late 2020.

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Flags of Valor employs military veterans to create patriotic products

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Flags of Valor employs military veterans to create patriotic products


For Flags of Valor – a veteran-owned and operated business that has shipped more than 96,000 flags to doorsteps nationwide – the phrase “made in America” lies at the foundation of everything it stands for.

“For over 10 years, we’ve been saying the same thing – we build American products, on American wood, with American tools, made by American hands,” Flags of Valor founder and military veteran Brian Steorts told FOX Business. “And we do it while giving back to the causes that matter – supporting veterans, educating youth, and honoring service and sacrifice at every step.”

VETERANS SHARE PATRIOTISM, PRIDE AND PRODUCTIVITY WHILE ALSO PROMOTING ‘MILITARY WORK ETHIC’

Founded in Virginia in 2015, Flags of Valor is known for its handcrafted, wooden U.S. flags, as well as military and first responder flags. The business currently has 10 employees, the majority of whom are veterans and military spouses.

Flags of Valor currently has 10 employees, the majority of whom are veterans and military spouses.

Flags of Valor currently has 10 employees, the majority of whom are veterans and military spouses. (Flags of Valor)

Each material used by the Flags of Valor team – from the woodworking tools to the tape for the shipping boxes – is sourced from American companies, according to Steorts.

FROM BOMB SQUAD TO BAKER AND COFFEE MAKER: FORMER DEPUTY CRUSHES A NEW BUSINESS

“We believe that’s the only way it should be done,” Steorts said.

Steorts, a combat veteran who was deployed nine times, served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and later as an Air Force special operations pilot. 

In 2013, he got into woodworking after returning from one of his deployments injured and “mentally and physically” broken, he said. During that same time period, Steorts also lost four friends in combat and his sister to mental health struggles.

Founded in Winchester, Virginia in 2015, Flags of Valor is known for its handcrafted, wooden U.S. flags, as well as military and first responder flags.

Founded in Winchester, Virginia, in 2015, Flags of Valor is known for its handcrafted, wooden U.S. flags, as well as military and first responder flags. (Flags of Valor)

“I wanted something patriotic on the wall of my house – something that meant something,” Steorts said. “I found therapy in [woodworking], and I found philanthropy in it by donating my first couple of flags to the widows of my buddies that passed, and I just knew I wanted to do more.”

While Flags of Valor’s best-selling products today are its wooden U.S. flags, the business also sells patriotic home and office decor, awards, memorial displays, corporate gifts, employee recognition pieces, Christmas ornaments, clothing and accessories, and more, Steorts said. 

VETERAN-OWNED BREWING COMPANY PAYS TRIBUTE TO FALLEN HEROES: ‘GREAT AMERICAN BEER’ TO HONOR SACRIFICE

“One of the most important things we’re doing right now is building memorial flag cases – because our heroes deserve a final resting place for their flag that’s made by a veteran-owned American company, not mass-produced overseas,” he said.

Flags of Valor Founder Brian Steorts is pictured with Donald Trump

Flags of Valor Founder Brian Steorts is pictured with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in 2017. (Flags of Valor)

In addition to employing veterans, Flags of Valor has also given back by donating $1.7 million to veteran-operated nonprofits. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company also launched a Kids Flag Building Kit, a hands-on activity to help educate children about the history and values the American flag represents. Each year, during the weeks of Veterans Day and Memorial Day, thousands of students across the nation use the kits to create their own American flags.  

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“We believe in educating our youth and passing freedom on to the next generation,” Steorts said. “It’s more than a project – it’s about patriotism, education and preserving what matters most.”



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Consumers may face higher beef prices from businesses

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Consumers may face higher beef prices from businesses


High beef prices have been weighing on U.S. businesses and consumers.

They have forced some businesses to make tough decisions about how to handle the increased costs, and some are passing the costs on to customers. 

Rob Passio, the owner of Lombardi’s Prime Meats in Philadelphia, told FOX Business correspondent Jeff Flock on “Varney & Co” that “there’s only so much you can absorb as far as the hit to your bottom line before you say to yourself you have to raise these prices.” 

The butcher shop, Passio said, hasn’t seen its customers balk at higher prices “because they see it.” 

EGGS ARE NOT THE ONLY EXPENSIVE FOOD: BEEF PRICES ARE ALSO ON THE RISE

ground beef

Organic ground beef Oct. 30, 2020, in Bavaria, Nuremberg (Daniel Karmann/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“They see the inflation. They see the pricing. You know, everything is up,” he told Flock.

Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation data measured by the consumer price index (CPI) showed prices for beef and veal were up 2.4% month-over-month and 7.6% year-over-year in February. 

The overall CPI posted a 0.2% increase month-over-month and a 2.8% jump year-over-year.

Courtney Schmidt, sector manager at Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute, told FOX Business last month that high beef prices were driven by tighter U.S. beef production with consistent consumer demand.

The U.S. cattle herd is experiencing a down cycle, with cattle inventories at historically low levels in 2025, according to Schmidt.

Beef is more expensive

Demand for beef has remained strong since the pandemic, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. (Kennedy Hayes/Fox News  / Fox News)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported in late January that U.S. farms had 86.7 million head of cattle and calves. The count for beef cows specifically was 27.9 million, a decline of 1% compared to the same time last year, according to the USDA.

“I know they’re killing smaller cattle, so they’re trying, I guess, to kill them faster to create the supply that demand is needing,” Passio said. 

Some big companies source beef from Canada and Mexico, Flock reported on “Varney & Co.”

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President Donald Trump imposed 25% import tariffs on goods entering the U.S. from those two countries March 4 and, more recently, introduced exemptions for Mexico and Canada on goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement until early April.

Such a levy on imported beef would “increase the price,” according to Passio, adding that consumers “are going to pay for it.”

“My philosophy is to sell it as low as you can to show a savings, a value to the customer. And hopefully you have more customers to generate your revenue,” the Lombardi Prime Meats owner told Flock.  

beef in supermarket

Packages of beef are displayed for sale at a supermarket Jan. 12, 2023, in Foster City, Calif. (Liu Guanguan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In the U.S., ground beef averaged $5.63 per pound in February, while the per-pound price of boneless sirloin steak came in at $11.90, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Those average prices were 9.6% and 1.6% higher, respectively, than the same month in 2024.

EGG PRICE SPIKE: WE ARE ‘PAST THE TOUGH PART,’ AGRICULTURE SECRETARY ROLLINS SAYS

The USDA projected in a report released this month that U.S. beef production is poised to amount to 26.685 billion pounds this year. 

Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.



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