Tariff revenue helped shrink the US budget deficit by 17% in the first four months of the fiscal year, showcasing one of the stakes for the administration as the Supreme Court weighs whether President Donald Trump had the authority to impose most of his duties.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said there are pending investigations by the US Justice Department related to the probe of the late, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Unexpectedly strong employment data for January reduces the chances the Federal Reserve will see a need to cut interest rates again by midyear as the most concerning possibilities for the trajectory of the labor market seem more remote. Worries about rising unemployment that prompted three rate cuts at the end of 2025, before a pause in January, were likely eased by numbers out Wednesday showing 130,000 jobs were added last month, and unemployment fell to 4.3%. Former Treasury official Kitty Richards joins Balance of Power to discuss saying the very anemic job growth last year in the US matches the low expectations workers have been expressing in surveys about the labor market. (Source: Bloomberg)

The Trump administration warned that Peru is losing sovereignty over a Chinese-owned port near its capital city, after a local judge ruled that the port is exempt from some regulatory oversight.

President Donald Trump is privately musing about exiting the North American trade pact, people familiar with the matter said, injecting further uncertainty about the deal’s future into pivotal renegotiations involving the US, Canada and Mexico. The president has asked aides why he shouldn’t withdraw from the agreement, which he signed during his first term, though he has stopped short of flatly signaling that he will do so, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. (Source: Bloomberg)