What we’re reading (7/17)
“Federal Reserve’s Waller Says Central Bank Should Cut Rates At Next Meeting” (Associated Press). “Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed's governing board, said in a speech in New York City that the economy is showing signs of weakening, with consumer spending slowing and job gains cooling. The Fed should reduce borrowing costs to shore up spending and growth before the job market weakens further, Waller said.”
“Powell Defends $2.5 Billion Fed Renovation In Letter To White House” (Yahoo! Finance). “Jerome Powell offered his first detailed defense of a $2.5 billion renovation of the Federal Reserve's headquarters, arguing in a Thursday letter to White House budget director Russell Vought that ‘we take seriously the responsibility to be good stewards of public resources.’ It was a point-by-point response to a July 10 letter Powell received from Vought that raised a number of concerns about cost overruns and certain design elements, while warning that ‘the president is extremely troubled by your management of the Federal Reserve system.’”
“OpenAI Unveils Agent That Can Make Spreadsheets And PowerPoints” (Wall Street Journal). “OpenAI rolled out its latest entry in the red-hot area of independently operating AI bots, an agent that lets users automate tasks like online shopping and create spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. ChatGPT agent, as the bot is called, runs on a new AI model created to power the capability, the San Francisco-based company said. It works just as OpenAI’s ‘Operator’ agent does, by accessing the internet through its own browser and can click, scroll and type just as a person would.”
“House Passes First Major Regulation For Crypto Industry” (Washington Post). “The Genius Act, which passed with bipartisan support, 308-122, following the Senate’s approval in June, is now ready to be signed into law by President Donald Trump, who endorsed the bill and has pledged to pursue a more lenient regulatory environment for crypto while also promoting his own crypto ventures.”
“Netflix Notches A Record Quarter And Signals More Growth Ahead” (Business Insider). “The streaming giant's revenue rose 15.9% year over year to $11.08 billion, and earnings grew 47% to $7.19 per share. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected quarterly revenue of $11.06 billion and earnings of $7.09 per share. The company also raised its revenue forecast for 2025 to $44.8 billion to $45.2 billion, in part because of its momentum growing subscribers and its advertising business.”
