What we’re reading (7/24)
“Fed Chair Powell Pushes Back On Trump Criticism During Extraordinary Visit At Central Bank” (NBC News). “President Donald Trump used a rare visit to the Federal Reserve on Thursday to renew his pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell, telling reporters that costs to renovate the Fed’s buildings were exorbitant. Powell shook his head at times during the president’s remarks. Wearing a hard hat while surrounded by the ongoing renovations that have become the subject of Republicans’ scrutiny, the president said the construction cost had ballooned to ‘about $3.1 billion.’ Powell shook his head, saying, ‘I haven’t heard that.’”
“Intel To Lay Off 15% Of Workers, Cancel Billions In Projects In Bid For Rebound” (Wall Street Journal). “The chip-making giant said Thursday it would refocus its strategy on the highly competitive market for AI chips, regaining market share in personal-computer processors and developing its advanced 14A technology to sell to large customers.”
“If Active Investing Is The Loser’s Game, What’s The Winner’s Game?” (Morningstar). “A sound investment strategy should be grounded in peer-reviewed academic research, not opinions or anecdotes. The overwhelming evidence is that markets are highly, though not perfectly, efficient. This means that most information is already reflected in prices, making it extremely difficult for active managers to consistently outperform after costs. As a result, the most effective approach is to avoid strategies that rely on security selection or market-timing and instead focus on systematic, transparent, and replicable strategies, such as using index funds or quantitative factor-based approaches.”
“Elon Musk Warns Of Potentially ‘Rough’ Times Ahead” (New York Times). “Shares in Tesla are sinking in premarket trading on Thursday after the electric vehicle maker reported its worst quarterly revenue drop in over a decade, and after Elon Musk warned on a call with analysts of the potential for ‘a few rough quarters’ ahead.”
“Why Ground Beef Prices Are Hitting Record-Highs In The U.S.” (Time). “For many Americans, the cost of ground beef is starting to weigh down their weekly shopping baskets. Ground beef prices rose by 10.3% in June, when compared to the same time last year, surpassing $6 per pound. The price of steak rose by 12.4% within this period.”
