What we’re reading (9/25)
“Day Trading Is About To Get Easier For Smaller Retail Investors” (CNBC). “The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Tuesday approved amendments that would replace the long-standing threshold, making active day trading more accessible to smaller accounts. The change is pending approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The $25,000 minimum equity rule mandates that traders must maintain a minimum account balance of $25,000 in a margin account to execute four or more day trades within a five-business-day period. The rule was put in place in 2001 amid the dot-com bubble and crash as regulators grew worried that small traders were taking excessive risks with volatile internet stock.”
“Get Rich Or Get Wiped Out: Bitcoin’s Hottest New Trade” (Wall Street Journal). “Traders seeking rapid returns have made a speculative bitcoin play one of the most popular crypto bets globally: so-called perpetual futures. These potentially offer returns of 10, 20 or even 100 times an initial investment—or huge losses that could leave a trader with nothing. Known as perps, the contracts give traders access to extreme leverage and have exploded in popularity during a rally that has sent bitcoin prices up more than 70% over the past year. Though popular in other parts of the world, perps were largely unavailable until recently to U.S. traders on regulated venues.”
“Intel Is Seeking An Investment From Apple As Part Of Its Comeback Bid” (Bloomberg). “Intel Corp. has approached Apple Inc. about securing an investment in the ailing chipmaker, according to people familiar with the matter, part of efforts to bolster a business that’s now partially owned by the US government. Apple and Intel also have discussed how to work more closely together, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The talks have been early-stage and may not lead to an agreement, the people said.”
“Fed Officials Are Divided In Their Interest-Rate Outlook. How To Make Sense Of The ‘Dot Plot.’” (Barron’s). “The Federal Reserve cut interest rates this past week by a quarter of a percentage point. But where rates go from here is a coin toss, at best, given that Fed members’ latest forecasts diverge widely. Even Fed Chair Jerome Powell conceded that confidence is in short supply. Yet, markets mistakenly cling to the central bank’s projections, even though they are usually the first word, and not the last, on the trajectory of rates.”
“‘Coffee-Badging’ And Other Quiet Revolts: How Workers Are Defying In-Office Mandates” (The Hill). “Required in-office time from employer mandates climbed 13 percent between 2024’s second quarter and this year’s, from 2.49 to 2.82 days per week. Yet physical attendance stayed nearly flat, inching up 1 percentage point over that time. Stanford economist Nick Bloom summarizes the pattern in six deflating words: ‘Attendance is flat as a pancake.’ Rules multiplied; compliance did not. The data expose a mismatch between what leaders decree and what professionals accept.”
