Newsletter Sep 19, 2024

Quick Six

Federal Reserve makes aggressive rate cut as inflation fades
The Federal Reserve aggressively cut a key interest rate by half a point on Wednesday, the first time the funds rate has dropped in more than four years. The Fed also signaled more cuts continuing into 2025. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell had telegraphed the cut ahead of the announcement, but many analysts were expecting a quarter-point drop. The Fed's benchmark rate, which has been at a 23-year high of between 5.25% and 5.50%, will now sit in a range between 4.75% and 5%. Inflation has been easing, and the Fed is trying to keep the economy from sinking into a recession.
WHAT IMPACT WILL FED'S RATE CUT HAVE ON ECONOMY?

Striking Boeing workers' union calls company not serious
The union for striking Boeing workers said the aviation giant was not "taking mediation seriously," after 33,000 workers walked out last week over a contract dispute, effectively shutting down two Seattle-area plants. Workers also opposed other parts of the deal, including its failure to reinstate pensions. Underlying the fury has been a more than decade-long period of essentially stagnant wages at a time when consumer inflation has stressed budgets.
WORKERS SEEKING 40% RAISE OVER NEXT FOUR YEARS

Trump calls for bringing back SALT deduction he eliminated
Donald Trump has been rolling out a series of tax cut promises. His latest is a burden he helped create for residents of high-tax states -- the SALT deduction. The 2017 law he signed capped the amount of local and state taxes that people could claim on their federal return at $10,000. Now Trump is posting on Truth Social to "get SALT back, lower your Taxes, and so much more."
WHAT RETURNING SALT DEDUCTION WOULD DO TO TAXES

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Markets

DJIA	41,503.10	-0.25%
S&P 500	5,618.26	-0.29%
Nasdaq Composite	17,573.30	-0.31%
Japan: Nikkei 225	36,380.17	0.49%
UK: FTSE 100	8,253.68	-0.68%
Crude Oil Futures	70.17	-1.04%
Gold Futures	2,583.00	-0.60%
Yen	142.00	-0.20%
Euro	1.11	0.01%
* As of market close

Musk's X uses update to bypass Brazil ban

Elon Musk's X carried out an automatic update overnight on phone applications that allowed it to bypass a ban in Brazil, an association of internet providers said Wednesday. Brazilian users could again access the platform from their phones after a Supreme Court judge last month ordered its shutdown in a legal standoff with Musk. ABRINT explained that the return of X was due to an update of the app to Cloudflare that constantly changing IP addresses. The previous system used specific IPs, which act like a home address that could more easily be blocked.

WHAT'S THE NEXT MOVE IN MUSK'S SHOWDOWN WITH BRAZIL?

China poses biggest threat to US in history

China presents the top challenge to the United States in its history, surpassing the Cold War, a top US official said Wednesday, as he urged Europe to get tougher on Beijing. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, a key architect of a 15-year push for the United States to reorient its foreign policy toward Asia, also urged greater US investment in advanced technology to compete better with China, which has grown increasingly belligerent militarily around the globe.

SEE THE MOST IMMINENT THREATS CHINA POSES TO THE US

US rolls out online passport renewal system

Say goodbye to paper passport applications and six- to eight-week waiting periods and hello to online passport renewal. In accordance with President Biden's 2021 Executive Order to modernize the government, the Department of State's new online passport renewal system is now available to the public. The department was able to cut processing times down to one-third thanks to "increased staffing, technological advancements, and a host of other improvements."

SEE HOW YOU CAN RENEW YOUR PASSPORT ONLINE TODAY

Extra point

Name 5 places outside the US Americans don't need a passport to visit.

Wednesday's answer: The first image posted to Instagram was a 2010 photo of a dog sitting near a taco stand in Mexico, by Kevin Systrom.

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