What we’re reading (3/16)
“A Fed Meeting And Retail Sales Data Greet A Flailing Stock Market: What To Know This Week” (Yahoo! Finance). “In the week ahead, the Federal Reserve and the health of the US economy will remain top of mind for investors. The central bank is largely expected to hold interest rates steady when it announces its next monetary policy decision on Wednesday. Markets will focus on any clues about when the central bank could cut rates again.”
“The Days Of Set-And-Forget Investing Just Ended For Many Americans” (Wall Street Journal). “The S&P 500, which had been delivering hard-to-beat gains, fell into correction territory this past week, with Wall Street fretting that the economy is sliding toward recession. In the first half of March, individual investors have been trading in their 401(k)s at more than four times the normal level, according to record-keeper Alight Solutions. The past month has had the most trading in almost five years. Investors who have dumped U.S. stocks say they are searching for stability in money-market funds, short-term bonds, gold and international markets. European defense stocks have been a popular bet, premised on increased security spending in the region.”
“Home Sellers And Buyers Accuse Realtors Of Blocking Lower Fees” (New York Times). “One year after the National Association of Realtors agreed, as part of a legal settlement, to change a key rule on real estate commissions — a rule that had long upheld a tradition of commissions between 5 and 6 percent, little has changed. What was hailed as a watershed has so far produced a mere drizzle. Some economists predicted the rule change would upend the business model and bring competition to a long-stilted marketplace, breaking the standard 6 percent rate — one of the highest rates in the world — and forcing down home prices as a result. Though average commissions appear to be slipping, industry watchdogs say that Realtors and their brokerages have used workarounds and pressure on sellers like Mr. Chambers to subvert the settlement. So far, they’re finding success.”
“The World’s Deadliest Infectious Disease Is About to Get Worse” (The Atlantic). “Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a near-perfect predator. In 1882, Robert Koch, the physician who discovered the microbe, told a room full of scientists that it caused one in seven of all deaths. In 2023, after a brief hiatus, tuberculosis regained from COVID its status as the world’s deadliest infectious disease—a title it has held for most of what we know of human history.”
“Is Our Universe Trapped Inside A Black Hole? This James Webb Space Telescope Discovery Might Blow Your Mind” (Space.com). “Without a doubt, since its launch, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revolutionized our view of the early universe, but its new findings could put astronomers in a spin. In fact, it could tell us something profound about the birth of the universe by possibly hinting that everything we see around us is sealed within a black hole. The $10 billion telescope, which began observing the cosmos in the Summer of 2022, has found that the vast majority of deep space and, thus the early galaxies it has so far observed, are rotating in the same direction. While around two-thirds of galaxies spin clockwise, the other third rotates counter-clockwise. In a random universe, scientists would expect to find 50% of galaxies rotating one way, while the other 50% rotate the other way. This new research suggests there is a preferred direction for galactic rotation.”
