📉 Moody’s Downgrade Warning: Moody’s has issued a grim assessment of the U.S. fiscal outlook, citing a lack of meaningful spending cuts and projecting continued deterioration versus other developed nations. The U.S. budget deficit has reached $1.05 trillion YTD, up 13% from last year, driven by rising interest costs and elevated debt levels. 💬 Key Concern: Interest payments are surging due to high rates and growing debt—raising alarms about long-term fiscal sustainability. 📊 Policy History: Congress last balanced a budget in the early 2000s. Since then, deficits have persisted despite repeated warnings. GOP tax cuts have cut revenue, even as defense spending climbs and social services face ineffective reductions. ⚠ Dalio’s Red Flag: America’s “Biggest Problem” Ray Dalio, the billionaire who foresaw the 2008 crash, called the $36 trillion national debt the “greatest threat” to the U.S. economy. In his new book How Countries Go Broke, Dalio compares today’s risks to the 1930s economic crisis and criticizes President Trump’s aggressive push to centralize power. “Trump’s moves resemble Jackson and FDR, but with even more force,” Dalio warned. 📉 Jamie Dimon: Stagflation Still in Play JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said stagflation—a toxic mix of high inflation and low growth—remains a real risk for the U.S. economy. 🗣 “Global deficits, rising military spending, and trade shifts are all inflationary,” he told Bloomberg. 🛢 He added that falling oil prices may be a rare deflationary counterweight. 📌 Dimon’s View: The Fed is right to hold rates steady amid these risks, despite Trump’s calls for cuts. 🟡 Bank of America Ups Gold Forecast to $4,000/oz for H2 2025 (Kitco News) Bank of America has turned decisively bullish on gold, raising its year-end target to $4,000 per ounce, one of the boldest calls among major institutions. 🔹 Backstory: In March, B