What we’re reading (3/19)
“The Fed Is Playing A Waiting Game On Rate Cuts. The Rules Are Starting To Change.” (Wall Street Journal). “For investors, the big question hanging over this week’s meeting of the Federal Reserve is whether it will wait a little longer to cut interest rates because of recent, firm inflation readings. The Fed, though, has a different preoccupation: If it waits too long, will it inadvertently cause a recession? Officials won’t put recession risk front and center this week. Yet that risk is likely to drive its thinking over the remainder of the year, leaving it on track to cut rates at some point.”
“Here’s Everything To Expect From The Federal Reserve’s Policy Meeting Wednesday” (CNBC). “In addition to releasing its rate decision after the meeting wraps up Wednesday, the central bank will update its economic projections as well as its unofficial forecast for the direction of interest rates over the next several years. As expectations have swung sharply this year for where the Fed is headed, this week’s two-day session of the Federal Open Market Committee will draw careful scrutiny for any clues about the direction of interest rates.”
“Why Are Americans Still Down On The Economy? (Paul Krugman). “I’ve been struck by the results of swing-state polls being conducted by Quinnipiac University, which ask respondents about both the national economy and their personal financial situations. In the latest poll, of Michigan voters, only 35 percent of people said that the national economy was excellent or good, while 65 percent said it was not so good or bad. But when asked about their personal finances the proportions were basically reversed, with 61 percent saying that they were in excellent or good shape and 38 percent saying they were in not so good or bad shape.”
“The Era Of The AI Home Broker Approaches” (Axios). “An AI trained on the actions of very good brokers would be able to forward new listings to clients within seconds of them appearing; would be up to speed on the plethora of documents and payments that need to be brought to a closing; and could answer questions in an approachable, conversational style 24 hours a day.”
“Same Old Song: Private Equity Is Destroying Our Music Ecosystem” (New York Times). “Does that song on your phone or on the radio or in the movie theater sound familiar? Private equity — the industry responsible for bankrupting companies, slashing jobs and raising the mortality rates at the nursing homes it acquires — is making money by gobbling up the rights for old hits and pumping them back into our present. The result is a markedly blander music scene, as financiers cannibalize the past at the expense of the future and make it even harder for us to build those new artists whose contributions will enrich our entire culture.”
