What we’re reading (1/27)
“Stocks Close Higher Friday, Nasdaq Posts Fourth Week Of Gains” (CNBC). “All the major averages posted a positive week and are on pace for a month of gains. The tech-heavy index rose 4.32% and closed out its fourth week of gains. It’s on pace for its best monthly performance since July. The S&P and Dow added 2.47% and 1.81%, respectively, this week.”
“Consumer Spending Fell 0.2% In December As Inflation Cooled” (Wall Street Journal). “Consumer spending fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in December from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Friday, the second straight monthly drop following solid spending increases during several months last year. Adjusted for inflation, spending fell 0.3% last month.”
“How Much Does Aging Really Hurt A Country?” (Noahpinion). “[I]f aging demographics are a source of national weakness, then the developed democracies are in much the same boat as China. Median ages have actually converged, and all the industrialized countries are expected to age substantially in the decades ahead[.]”
“Microsoft Is Beating Google At Its Own Game” (Vox). “Microsoft appears to be on the cusp of being something it hasn’t been in a long time: cutting-edge. It’s a label the company lost a long time ago after a series of small startups grew to become Microsoft’s biggest competitors. Google, for example, started out as a nimble, innovative upstart and eventually bested Microsoft in browsers, email, and mobile operating systems. But now Microsoft might be the nimble, innovative company that bests Google in artificial intelligence. And it’s all thanks to OpenAI.”
“Mark Zuckerberg Reportedly Said He Doesn't Like Seeing ‘Managers Managing Managers,’ Fueling Speculation Of More Layoffs” (Insider). “Meta is among the slew of tech giants that have been drastically downsizing their workforces over the past several months, like Twitter, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. The mass layoffs have left many in the tech industry panicked uncertain about the future of the industry.”
