Macro China's US Treasury Holdings Have Fallen by More Than Half From Their Peak, to the Lowest Level Since 2008 A decade-long drawdown China has been quietly reducing its US debt exposure for years. Its holdings of US Treasuries have fallen by more than half, from a record $1.32 trillion in 2013 to $618 billion in July, the lowest level since 2008, according to US Treasury data. China
Geopolitics Iran Urges the US to Accept Its Proposal to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz The seven-day offer is still on the table Iran's offer to the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days is still on the table, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Iranian media outlets on Sunday, per Reuters. Tehran presented the proposal in mid-September
AI Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Google Are Expected to Pour $750 Billion Into Capital Spending This Year, Mostly on AI Data Centers A $750 billion year Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Google are expected to pour $750 billion into capital spending this year, mostly on AI data centers, per Bloomberg. That is enough to write a $5,500 check to every household in America. It is up more than 80% from last year&
AI Bank of America Is Warning That the AI Boom Is Starting to Look Like a Classic Boom-and-Bust Cycle The capital cycle playbook Bank of America is warning that the AI boom is starting to look like a classic boom-and-bust cycle. The warning signs: surging spending, intensifying competition and falling prices. In a note to clients Friday, BofA investment strategist Sebastian Raedler argued the AI buildout is
Economy More Than 14% of U.S. Home Purchase Agreements Were Canceled in September, the Highest Rate for Any September on Record Deals are falling apart More than 14% of U.S. home purchase agreements were canceled in September, the highest rate for any September on record, per Redfin. Nationwide, 14.5% of homebuying deals that went under contract in September were later canceled. Other than March and April 2020, that is
Markets Musk Unveils the Tesla Roadster by Launching It Off a Ramp, Flipping in Midair Before Landing Safely Nine years later, the Roadster flies Elon Musk has unveiled the Tesla Roadster by launching it off a ramp, where it flipped in midair before landing safely on the ground. The reveal happened Thursday night at SpaceX's test site in McGregor, Texas, nearly nine years after the second
AI Investors Lower Expectations for Anthropic's IPO, Now Weighing a $1.5 Trillion Valuation, Down From $2 Trillion, per Reuters A $500 billion haircut Investors are reportedly lowering their expectations for Anthropic's IPO, per Reuters, with some now considering a valuation of around $1.5 trillion, down from the roughly $2 trillion previously expected for the November share sale. Four people familiar with the matter told Reuters that
Markets Musk Says SpaceX Probably Gets to Over $100 Trillion in Under 10 Years, Barring a Major World War The claim Elon Musk has said that unless there is a major world war, SpaceX probably gets to more than $100 trillion in value in under 10 years. Treat that number as what it is: Musk's own claim, not an analyst forecast. In the same remarks, he said
Markets Barclays Says a Tesla-SpaceX Merger Could Be Announced Before Tesla's Annual Meeting in Early December An announcement could come within weeks Barclays says a merger of Tesla and SpaceX could be announced before Tesla's annual meeting in early December, which the bank notes must be held by December 6. To be clear, this is analyst speculation, not an announced deal. Neither company has
Markets The Average Car on US Roads Is Now Nearly 13 Years Old, an All-Time High, per Charlie Bilello A record that keeps breaking The average car on the road in America is now nearly 13 years old, an all-time high, per Charlie Bilello. Thirty years ago, the average was 8.4 years. That means the typical vehicle on US roads today is more than 50 percent older
Macro September PPI Comes in Hot at 6.3%, Well Above the 5.3% Estimate as Energy Costs Surge Wholesale inflation is running hot again Wholesale inflation came in far hotter than expected in September. The producer price index rose 6.3 percent from a year earlier, above the 5.3 percent estimate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The monthly move was just as sharp. PPI jumped
Markets Musk Floats a Competitor to Amazon After Grok Bots Are Blocked From Ordering Musk pokes Amazon where it lives Elon Musk has mused about taking on Amazon in its home market. "Maybe we should start a competitor to Amazon," Musk wrote on X on Thursday, replying to a user who had suggested an "X Shop" as an alternative marketplace.
Tech Global Smartphone Market Has Its Worst Quarter Ever, per Bloomberg The worst quarter on record The global smartphone market has had its worst quarter ever, per Bloomberg. Global smartphone shipments fell 22 percent year over year in the September quarter to 255.3 million units, the worst decline of any quarter on record, per IDC. The researcher says the market
Macro Canadians Now Expect to Buy Their First Home at 41, per FP The first rung is 12 years further away Canada's property ladder is getting harder to reach, and first-time buyers now expect to spend most of their thirties off it. RBC's 2026 Home Ownership Poll finds that current homeowners bought their first home at an average
Politics Donors Behind Trump's $333 Million White House Ballroom Benefited From Regulatory Decisions, Contracts and a Pardon, per WaPo The donor list the White House would not publish The names and amounts behind President Donald Trump's White House ballroom are now on paper. A list obtained by The Washington Post reveals all the major donors to the ballroom project, including previously undisclosed contributors who have benefited from
Markets The Nine Biggest US Banks Dropped Customers Over Political and Religious Views, Federal Regulator Finds The OCC reviewed 100,000 complaints and found the nine largest national banks had policies that factored in customers' political, religious or business activities, per CBS News.
Macro Homeowners Now Spend Nearly $24,000 a Year on Top of Their Mortgage Payment, per WaPo The typical homeowner spends about $23,686 a year on non-mortgage costs, led by $7,679 in utilities, and more than half could not cover a $5,000 repair without credit card debt, per WaPo reporting on new survey data.
Tech Microsoft Xbox Embraces Fan-Made Game Ports, Launches Xbox Labs Under CTO Scott Van Vliet Xbox CEO Asha Sharma responded to a wave of fan-made ports and mods, including Halo running in a browser, by launching Xbox Labs under CTO Scott Van Vliet to give old games new life.
Markets BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Says America Has Lost Its Bedrock, as the Longstanding Career Disappears BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said at Ford's Accelerate forum that America lost the bedrock of the career, as job-hopping replaced the single lifelong job his father's generation had.
Macro The Top 0.1% Have More Than Doubled Their Wealth Since 2019, Gaining $14.5 Trillion, per WSJ Federal Reserve data analyzed by the WSJ shows the top 0.1% gained $14.5 trillion since the end of 2019, about $10 trillion of it from stocks, and now control roughly $28 trillion, 15% of all US wealth.
Macro 40% of Workers Earning Over $500,000 Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck, per Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs survey data shows about 40% of households earning over $500,000 say they primarily live paycheck to paycheck, a higher share than most income groups, as housing, healthcare and childcare swallow pay.
Macro Home Sellers Outnumber Buyers by 62.6% in September, the Widest Gap in Redfin Records Since 2013 Redfin estimates 1.51 million US home sellers chased just 928,892 buyers in September, a 62.6% surplus and a fourth straight monthly record, with 41 of 50 big metros now buyer's markets.
Markets Netflix Is Laying Off 6% of Its Workforce, About 1,000 Jobs, in Its Biggest Cuts Since 2022 Netflix is cutting about 6% of its workforce, roughly 1,000 roles across product, tech, legal and HR, its biggest layoff since 2022, days ahead of third-quarter earnings on October 20.
Oil CFTC Ordered to Retract Analysis of Suspicious Oil Trades Placed Before Trump's Iran Announcements, Bloomberg Reports A referral that vanished A senior adviser to CFTC Chairman Michael Selig ordered agency staff to retract an internal analysis of suspicious oil trades that had been referred to the agency's enforcement division, Bloomberg reported. The trades in question were two large, well-timed bets placed shortly before
AI Jefferies Strategist Now Sees 'Massive Capital Destruction' as Base Case for AI Boom, With Share Going to Chinese Models The base case turns bearish Chris Wood, the Jefferies global head of equity strategy behind the widely read GREED & fear newsletter, has made "massive capital destruction in the U.S. with market share going to cheaper open-source Chinese large language models" his base case for how
