Fox cut ties with one of its biggest business stars, a sign of the network's long-running friction with Trump's base — and it lands as Trump escalates his fight with the Fed.

• Bartiromo was fired after reportedly screenshotting internal Fox guidance blocking a story and sending it to White House officials.
• Fox is still gun-shy about 2020 election claims after the Dominion and Smartmatic lawsuits, and the leak gave it a reason to act.
• The firing highlights a deeper split: Fox leans toward Wall Street's version of conservatism, while Bartiromo backed Trump's economic project.
• Separately, Trump threatened to halt trade with every country the US runs a deficit with unless new Fed chair Kevin Warsh cuts interest rates.
• Warsh has spent his career as an inflation hawk, and strong August job numbers give the Fed even less reason to cut.

Outlook: Rate cuts look unlikely near-term, and cutting now would likely push energy prices and inflation higher rather than help the economy.