What we’re reading (9/5)
“Goldman Cuts US Recession Chances To 15% On Improved Inflation” (Bloomberg). “Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now sees a 15% chance the US will slide into recession, down from 20% previously as cooling inflation and a still-resilient labor market suggest the Federal Reserve may not need to raise interest rates any further.”
“The Fed’s Inflation Fight Will Push The 10-Year Treasury Yield To 5%” (MarketWatch). “All Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has to do now to finish the job is to artfully maneuver U.S. monetary policy so inflation slides to 2% without derailing economic growth. Easier said than done. After a long decline, real wages are rising and indicators of consumer sentiment have improved. The Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, along with enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, have triggered booms in factory construction for semiconductors, electric vehicles, green industries, cloud infrastructure and software development. To finance federal incentives and more health-care spending, the federal deficit for the fiscal year ending in September will likely hit $1.85 trillion. That’s 6.9% of GDP and well-above the average for advanced industrialized economies.”
“Elon Musk Blames The ADL For 60% Ad Sales Decline At X, Threatens To Sue” (CNN Business). “X owner Elon Musk is threatening to sue the Anti-Defamation League for defamation, claiming that the nonprofit organization’s statements about rising hate speech on the social media platform have torpedoed X’s advertising revenue. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk said US advertising revenue is ‘still down 60%, primarily due to pressure on advertisers by @ADL (that’s what advertisers tell us), so they almost succeeded in killing X/Twitter!’”
“FTC Antitrust Suit Against Amazon Set For Later This Month After Meeting Fails To Resolve Impasse” (Wall Street Journal). “Top members of Amazon’s legal team had a video call with FTC officials on Aug. 15. The so-called last-rites meeting, which is often a final step before a court battle, was a chance for the technology giant to make its case to the regulator to head off a possible lawsuit that officials have been working on for many months. During such meetings, companies have the opportunity to offer to pre-emptively change their business practices in order to avoid a lawsuit. But, Amazon’s lawyers didn’t offer specific concessions, the people said.”
“TikTok Has Transformed The Concert Experience” (Vox). “The age of streaming media has brought with it increased access to concert footage, front-row fancams, and highly mobilized fanbases who approach everything about the concert season like it’s their job. From buying tickets (good luck) to prepping for the big night by carefully planning the perfect concert outfit, these fans do it all — and many of them do it on camera, sharing the whole experience with other die-hards online.”
