Newsletter Feb 23, 2024

Quick Six

Odysseus makes historic lunar landing for private sector
The Odysseus lunar lander, built by the Houston-based Intuitive Machines, safely landed on the Moon on Thursday, becoming the first private company to reach the lunar surface and the first US-made spacecraft to complete the feat in a half century. In a new private-public partnership with NASA, Odysseus made the historic touchdown about 6:24 p.m. ET, although it took a few moments before the spacecraft confirmed its successful landing minutes later as the Houston mission control room erupted in applause.
WHY PRIVATE SECTOR IS SPACE EXPLORATION'S FUTURE

Fed vice chair warns Americans against over-consumption
A senior Federal Reserve official confirmed Thursday that the US central bank still intends to start cutting interest rates "at some point this year," but warned against the potentially inflationary effect of over-consumption. Fed vice chair Philip Jefferson said he expects growth in spending and production in the US to slow in 2024. US households continued to spend in 2023, despite their reduced buying power due to inflation and higher interest rates.
HOW OVER-CONSUMPTION COULD TRIGGER INFLATION

US eyes windfall from IRS crackdown on wealthy tax dodgers
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is intensifying its efforts to fight tax evasion among the nation's wealthiest individuals, with officials unveiling that millionaires and billionaires are evading $150 billion in taxes annually, exacerbating government deficits and undermining the fairness of the tax system. Fueled by funding from Congress, the IRS has started a broad crackdown targeting wealthy taxpayers, partnerships, and large corporations.
HOW THE IRS PLANS TO CATCH WEALTHY TAX CHEATERS

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Markets

DJIA	39,069.11	1.18%
S&P 500	5,087.03	2.11%
Nasdaq Composite	16,041.62	2.96%
Japan: Nikkei 225	39,098.68	2.19%
UK: FTSE 100	7,684.49	0.29%
Crude Oil Futures	78.27	-0.43%
Gold Futures	2,035.10	0.22%
Yen	150.48	-0.04%
Euro	1.08	0.02%
* As of market close

G20 pushing Israel into two-state solution

G20 nations broadly back a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East, host Brazil said Thursday after a meeting of top diplomats, adding to pressure on Israel to accept an independent Palestinian state. The unified message from the meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro came a day after Israel's parliament overwhelmingly voted for a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to oppose any "unilateral" recognition of a Palestinian state.

SEE WHY ISRAEL IS TRYING TO AVOID A TWO-STATE SOLUTION

Alabama IVF ruling deepens political divide

The Biden re-election campaign is ramping up its criticism of former President Trump, attributing the Alabama Supreme Court's recent in vitro fertilization (IVF) ruling to Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices. The contentious decision, declaring embryos as children under state law, has sent shockwaves through the medical community, prompting the University of Alabama-Birmingham to temporarily halt IVF treatments over fears of legal ramifications.

SEE NIKKI HALEY CALLING OUT TRUMP OVER THE IVF RULING

Florida trying to ban social media for teens

Florida moved Thursday towards enacting what would be one of the strictest bans on children's use of social media in the US after the state Senate passed a bill to keep those under 16 off such platforms. The controversial bill seeks to protect children's mental health against the "addictive features" of such platforms, amid fears over online dangers including from sexual predators, cyber bullying and teen suicide.

SEE HOW CLOSE FLORIDA IS TO PASSING THE LEGISLATION

Extra point

On this day in 1868, who became the first US president to be impeached?

Thursday's answer: The U.S. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was signed into law in 2007 by President George W. Bush.

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