"If you strip out food and energy, we have one of the lowest inflation trends in recent years," says Dale Smothers, making the case that an interest rate hold is not off the table prior to the Fed's decision. Dale weighs inflation pains against the Fed's push to maintain independence as what he calls a "trapeze act" for Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. On the AI trade, he pushes back the idea of an AI slowdown due to the earnings ramp companies continue to see.