Newsletter Jul 26, 2024

Quick Six

US economic growth exceeds Q2 projections with 2.8% GDP
US economic growth blew past expectations in the second quarter, boosted by consumer spending and inventory building despite high interest rates, government data showed Thursday, after a slow start to the year. The world's biggest economy grew 2.8% from April to June, up from 1.4% in the first three months this year, said the Commerce Department. The estimate was markedly above the 1.9% growth rate economists anticipated.
CONSUMPTION REMAINS ELEVATED DESPITE INFLATION

World's wealthiest 1% get even richer over the past decade
The world's richest 1% increased their fortunes by a total of $42 trillion over the past decade, Oxfam said Thursday, ahead of a G20 summit in Brazil where taxing the super-rich tops the agenda. Taxes on the rich had plummeted to "historic lows", the NGO added, warning of "obscene levels" of inequality with the rest of the world "left to scrap for crumbs". The G20's finance ministers are expected to look for ways to raise levies on the super-rich.
US ARGUES THERE'S NO NEED FOR G20 TO TAX WEALTHY

Adding up the total costs of CrowdStrike's global IT outage
A global IT outage that happened last Friday affected one in four Fortune 500 companies, leading to an estimated collective loss of $5.4 billion, according to a report on the CrowdStrike outage. The average loss per affected company was about $43.6 million. The healthcare sector suffered the most, incurring losses of around $1.9 billion. Airlines were second, losing about $860 million.
TOTAL COSTS FOR INSURED COMPANIES COULD TOP $1B

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Markets

DJIA	39,935.07	0.20%
S&P 500	5,399.22	-0.51%
Nasdaq Composite	17,181.72	-0.93%
Japan: Nikkei 225	37,891.00	0.06%
UK: FTSE 100	8,186.35	0.40%
Crude Oil Futures	78.57	0.37%
Gold Futures	2,370.70	0.73%
Yen	153.75	-0.12%
Euro	1.09	0.11%
* As of market close

Biden, Harris press Netanyahu for ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss the war with Hamas, focusing on efforts to achieve a ceasefire and secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. Biden pushed for a deal that includes a six-week ceasefire and the release of the hostages, while making a commitment to ending of the conflict before the end of his presidency. Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for Biden's long-term support for Israel. Netanyahu later met with presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

HARRIS' VIEWS ON ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR DIFFER FROM BIDEN'S

OpenAI to challenge Google with SearchGPT

OpenAI on Thursday said it was putting its artificial intelligence engine to work in a challenge to Google's market-dominating search engine. The startup announced that it is testing a SearchGPT prototype that is "designed to combine the strength of our AI models with information from the web" to answer online queries quickly and to provide relevant sources. Google recently added AI-generated query result summaries -- referred to as "Overviews" -- to its search engine, the first to use AI.

CAN OPENAI GAIN GROUND ON GOOGLE IN SEARCH ENGINES?

Big stars to light up Paris opening ceremony

World-famous stars are in line to perform at Friday's opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which will take place along the Seine river. The exact line-up is a tightly guarded secret, but here are three performers strongly rumored to be appearing, including one of the world's biggest-selling artists, Lady Gaga, who brings extravagant showmanship and costumes to the stage, along with her infectious electropop beats.

SEE THE OTHER BIG NAMES EXPECTED TO TAKE THE STAGE

Extra point

How much of the world's total wealth is owned by the wealthiest 1%? How much of the world's total wealth does the bottom 50% own?

Thursday's answer: A 1953 deal between North and South Korea allows each side to post up to 35 troops carrying one firearm each at the DMZ.

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