What we’re reading (9/26)
“The Fed Slashed Interest Rates Last Week, But Treasury Yields Are Rising. What’s Going On?” (CNBC). “With its larger-than-normal cut last week, the Federal Reserve sent a clear message that interest rates are heading considerably lower in the future. The Treasury market, though, hasn’t been paying attention.”
“Justice Department Probes Server Maker Super Micro Computer” (Wall Street Journal). “Super Micro Computer, the server maker that saw its business take off with the artificial-intelligence boom, is being probed by the Justice Department following a critical report by an activist short-selling firm, according to people familiar with the matter. The probe is at an early stage, the people said. A prosecutor at the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco recently has contacted people potentially holding relevant information.”
“Was Jack Bogle Right About Smart Beta All Along?” (Morningstar). “Among this year’s 10 bestselling strategic-beta offerings, funds that have outgained Vanguard Total Stock Market Index over the past five years have received 80% of net new sales. Five of those 10 funds openly market themselves as growth portfolios, while two more favor high-quality companies that trade like growth stocks. That development, it must be confessed, evokes Bogle’s concern about ‘hot factors.’ It seems that after many years of holding out, strategic-beta investors have decided if they can’t beat growth funds, they should join them.”
“No ‘Get Out Of Jail Free Card’ For Caroline Ellison” (The Intelligencer). “On Tuesday afternoon, Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Caroline Ellison to two years in prison and three years of supervised release, announcing his decision came in the same courtroom where, hardly six months earlier, he sent Sam Bankman-Fried to prison for a quarter-century. Ellison had been the star witness against the crypto mastermind — flawed, but extremely clear and devastating — who had helped the government convince 12 jurors to render SBF guilty in a highly complex case. That’s why Ellison’s sentence was a surprise.”
“OpenAI Turmoil Is A Bad Look For Its Huge Funding Round, VCs Say. ‘I Would Vote With My Feet.’” (Business Insider). “At OpenAI, leadership shake ups are becoming something of an autumnal tradition. Less than a year after the ousting and rapid reinstatement of CEO Sam Altman, the company behind ChatGPT has seen three of its top leaders resign suddenly in the same week it moves to close what could be the largest funding round in the history of Silicon Valley.”
