Barron’s (September 14)
“AI stocks aren’t alone when it comes to being sensitive to interest rates; equities in general tend to be reactive” and they also averse to the “potential chilling effect on demand” of higher rates. Though expectations are that “the Fed will raise rates when the FOMC announces its monetary policy decision,” the resilience of the economy this year provides “a hopeful thought for anyone dreading a rate hike.”
Tags: AI, Averse, Chilling effect, Demand, Dreading, Economy, Equities, Expectations, Fed, FOMC, Hike, Interest rates, Monetary policy, Reactive, Resilience, Sensitive, Stocks
The Guardian (September 11)
“Humanity cannot outsource its survival.” AI must be controlled, but that’s no easy feat. “Keeping people in charge means little if supercomputers determine the evidence, choices and time on which their decisions depend.” Yet we must. “The dangers of AI-enabled pandemics or attacks on nuclear systems are real. Countries need not agree on democracy or trade policy to accept this.”
Tags: AI, Attacks, Choices, Controlled, Dangers, Decisions, Democracy, Evidence, Humanity, Nuclear systems, Outsource, Pandemics, Real, Supercomputers, Survival, Time, Trade policy
Reuters (September 11)
“Analysts at JPMorgan now expect eight of the nine developed-market central banks to hike interest rates by the year end, including the Fed, BOJ, all four central banks in Europe, and the reserve banks of Australia and New Zealand.”
Tags: Analysts, Australia, BOJ, Central banks, Developed market, Europe, Fed, Hike, Interest rates, JPMorgan, Reserve banks, Year end
Washington Post (September 10)
“Twenty-five years after the 9/11 attacks, powerful agencies and vast legal authorities created to stop another terrorist catastrophe are being turned inward, with the Trump administration using many of those powers to round up immigrants, battle drug traffickers and target political dissent.”
Tags: 9/11 attacks, Drug traffickers, Immigrants, Legal authorities, Political dissent, Powerful agencies, Powers, Terrorist catastrophe, Trump administration, Turned inward
Time (September 9)
As the “Buy Canadian” movement gains momentum, “Consumers in Canada are finding different ways to navigate how best to boycott U.S. goods and services, putting extra time in at the grocery store to ensure they are buying Canadian as often as they can.” The movement’s resurgence “comes amid a deepening U.S.-Canada trade dispute that shows no signs of waning.”
Tags: Boycott, Buy Canadian, Canada, Consumers, Deepening, Goods, Grocery store, Momentum, Movement, Navigate, Resurgence, Services, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (September 9)
“A new superpower is about to enter the fray, one that is unknowable and unending and potentially dwarfs the U.S. and China individually or collectively.” Artificial intelligence already poses significant threats, “yet AI’s most consequential advances—starting with recursive self-improvement—are still ahead.” At their upcoming summit, Trump and Xi “need to make AI safety the top priority for the rest of their tenures.”
Tags: Advances, AI, China, Consequential, Priority, Recursive self-improvement, Safety, Summit, Superpower, Threats, Trump, U.S., Unending, Unknowable, Xi
New York Times (September 8)
“Investors are bracing for more inflation data this week that could persuade the Fed to raise its benchmark lending rate for the first time in three years. That uncertainty is roiling the bond market, just as rising oil and copper prices (more on copper below) threaten to pinch households and businesses.”
Tags: Benchmark, Bond market, Bracing, Copper, Fed, Households, Inflation, Investors, Lending rate, Oil, Pinch, Prices, Raise, Rising, Roiling, Uncertainty
Bloomberg (September 7)
“Global financial markets already under strain from a bond selloff and sharp currency swings face the risk of more volatility in the months ahead with the prospect of interest-rate hikes, mounting concerns over fiscal deficits and the ongoing war in the Middle East.”
Tags: Bond selloff, Concerns, Currency swings, Financial markets, Fiscal deficits, Global, Interest rate hikes, Prospect, Risk, Strain, Volatility, War
Market Watch (September 6)
“The U.S.’s status as a financial safe haven has begun to clash with President Trump’s growing barrage of economic and military threats to advance his agenda.” There seems be a common fear behind the Netherland’s recent withdrawal of reserve gold from the U.S., the drawdowns of France and Germany’s U.S.-based reserves, and a current plan in Norway to cut Treasury holdings. Basically, what’s to stop Trump from simply seizing their assets? His “sweeping tariff fight shocked the world last year. Then came the capture in January of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, February’s launch of the U.S.-Iran war, and plans in late August to control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil. In between, there’s been taunting of European and NATO allies, a campaign to takeover over Greenland and its natural resources and, lately, an escalating U.S.-Canada trade war.” So even if seizure sounds far-fetched, it is a legitimate risk for central banks to mitigate.
Tags: Allies, Assets, Barrage, Canada, Capture, Clash, Economic, Escalating, Europe, Fear, France, Germany, Gold, Greenland, Iran war, Maduro, Military threats, Nato, Netherlands, Norway, Reserves, Risk, Safe haven, Seizing, Seizure, Tariff, Taunting, Trade war, Treasury, Trump, U.S., Venezuela, Venezuelan oil, Withdrawal
The Times (September 4)
“Russia was caught in the act in its attack on Leipzig airport and Europe’s reaction simply confirmed its increasing solidarity.” It is true that “Russia would be hard put to mount a major attack against Nato now” with “its strength drained by the war.” Still, “the threat from Russia is real. With decisive victory on the battlefield eluding him, and with the war’s effects now being felt across his vast domain, Mr Putin may, like many a gambler before him, decide to double down. If that happens, Nato must be ready.”
Tags: Attack, Battlefield, Caught, Decisive, Europe, Leipzig airport, Major attack, Nato, Putin, Reaction, Real, Russia, Solidarity, Strength, Threat, Victory, War
