September 25, 2024

The Appetizer

“Not sure what she bought, or if she was even able to use her Target app to save 5%. We did let her finish her Frappuccino. We’re not mean.”

• Bedford, Ohio police in a Facebook post after locating an 8-year-old girl who drove her mom’s car for 20-25 minutes to Target.

Now, on to the numbers. Drum roll, please …

• 4.75%-5%: The current fed funds rate, which was cut by 50 basis points last week.
• 2 hours and 55 minutes: The new qualifying time for the 2026 Boston Marathon for men between the ages of 18 and 34, five minutes faster than this year’s edition.
• 1.5 billion: The estimated number of golf balls lost in the U.S. each year, according to Found Golf Balls CEO Shaun Shienfield.
• 10%: The percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs that are women, compared to 5% in 2015.
• 769: The number of points scored by Caitlin Clark in her first season, breaking the WNBA single-season rookie point record.
• 15%: The percentage of total U.S. personal consumption accounted for by the top 4.4% of U.S. households.

Dig In
The Shift is Here

We usually don’t like to repeat ourselves, but the Federal Reserve (Fed’s) decision to cut interest rates deserves a second mention. If you happened to miss it, the Fed cut the federal funds rate by 50 basis points – the first cut in four years.

Fun fact: There have been seven rate-cutting cycles since 1984 and three happened outside of a recession. Will this be number four? A lot depends on the jobs market. The Fed has two key goals: keeping prices in check and making sure there’s plenty of jobs. Based on the Summary of Economic Projections, it appears both sides of its mandate will remain in check.

The median forecasts show two more 25-basis-point cuts this year and four in the next. Plus, they’re still expecting solid economic growth of 2.0%, outpacing the long-term estimate of 1.8%. When it comes to inflation, the median core Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation forecast is 2.6% for 2024, dropping to 2.0% by 2026. The median expected unemployment rate is 4.4% at the end of this year and next.

The Fed will try to “thread the needle” of keeping inflation under control while avoiding a recession, but the risk of monetary policy error, in one direction or the other, remains. Read more in our latest Sight|Lines.

Weekly Specials

Shohei Ohtani made history by becoming the first MLB player to join the 50/50 club in a game for the ages when he hit three home runs, had 10 RBIs, and stole two bases, solidifying his legendary status in baseball.

Pet owners are increasingly humanizing their animals, from dressing them up to leaving them estates. In 29 states, pets can now inherit homes, have guardians, or be named in trusts, ensuring their care after their owners’ passing.

Rolls-Royce is making moves to build a fleet of mini nuclear reactors overseen by the Czech government. It’s not just pilsner anymore, they do nuclear reactors too!

OpenAI’s new AI model, o1 (internally “Strawberry”), is designed to perform human-like reasoning tasks! It should be able to solve multistep problems, including complicated math and coding questions.

Corporate Lunch

SpaceX’s has reached a huge deal with United Airlines to offer free Wi-Fi on 2,500 airplanes. What a move to get more people scrolling X. Elon is playing 4D chess.

Uber is planning to make the platform safer for drivers, conducting background checks for riders to receive a “verified” badge.

Trader Joe’s is bringing back the viral $2.99 mini tote bags this month. Carrying one of these in Williamsburg is like carrying a Birkin.

Amazon is telling employees that two days is only for shipping, not work from home. Its corporate staff, who are currently allowed to only come to the office three days per week, will be required to be in-person Monday through Friday starting in January.

Apple is in talks with the geniuses behind the Chase Sapphire card, JPMorgan, to become the new issuer of the tech company’s titanium credit card. Good luck cutting that credit card, customer retention is through the roof.

Boeing has furloughed tens of thousands of employees in a cost-cutting measure amid a strike by 30,000 workers.

Home Depot is set to pay nearly $2 million to settle a lawsuit alleging shelves did not match the checkout price, resulting in shoppers being overcharged. How many times has this gone the other way? Has anyone checked out a lawnmower for the price of a hammer?

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