A healthy crop of earnings helped European stocks bust out of a four-day losing streak on Thursday, Wall Street was watching Netflix and the dollar bounced after U.S. President Donald Trump quashed talk he was about to fire Fed head Jerome Powell.

The economy and the markets are "under surveillance" as we cover the latest in finance, economics and investment.

Wall Street is drifting toward the finish of its third winning week in the last four. NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting on Friday toward the finish of its third winning week in the last four, as more big U.S. companies deliver stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected.

Consumers' inflation expectations, by some measures, are also the highest in decades. Inflation has been above the Fed's 2% target for over four years, and the prospect of a dovish Fed under the stewardship of a new Trump-friendly Chair could keep it that way.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said policymakers should cut interest rates this month to boost a job market that looks to be weakening.

As the Fed moved forward with plans to renovate its Great Depression-era headquarters in Washington during Trump’s first term, it faced concerns in 2020 during a vetting process involving Trump appointees, who called for more “white Georgia marble” for the facade of building.

This past April, when President Donald Trump started flirting with the notion of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, stocks and the dollar tumbled because investors worried that even talking about such a move crossed a red line.

Many on Wall Street have privately worried that political pressure will undermine the Federal Reserve’s credibility.

PepsiCo jumped 7.5% after delivering revenue and profit that topped Wall Street’s expectations. The drink and snack giant also stood by its financial forecasts given in April, which projected lower full-year profit than previous forecasts due to increased costs from tariffs and a pullback in consumer spending.

The Nasdaq rose to a record high on Thursday, leading a cautious climb across Wall Street's major indexes, as strong economic data lifted spirits and airline stocks took off on United Airlines' results.