This week in the news | 28 Oct 23

News from the past week, and a few other things.

Oct 28, 2023

👋 Hello Reader, I hope you’re doing well. As usual, this newsletter provides a collection of articles that stood out to me this week.

In particular, you’ll find:

A large number of articles on events in the Middle East and Asia
Charts on immigration in the US
Some interesting charts on politics and political parties
A strong economy in the 3rd quarter causes a quandary for future interest rate hikes.
Charts on home ownership vs. renting
and some of my thoughts regarding caffeine in Panera’s tea

…along with many other articles

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A lock icon (🔒) indicates articles behind a paywall, and a chart icon (📊) indicates an informative chart/graphic in “Slow Brew.”

North America

Space

Government

Mike Johnson Elected House Speaker, Ending Three Weeks of GOP Feuding (WSJ🔒)
Congress' Job Approval Drops to 13%, Lowest Since 2017 (Gallup) 📊
Grand Old Party: How Aging Makes You More Conservative (WSJ🔒) 📊

Economy & Business

US Economy Grew at a 4.9% Pace Last Quarter, Fastest Since 2021 (Bloomberg🔒) 📊
With Interest Rates Up, Get Ready for Financial Drama (WSJ🔒)
America’s Downtowns Are Empty. Fixing Them Will Be Expensive. (WSJ🔒) 📊
Fed Floats Deep Cuts to Debit-Card Swipe Fees (WSJ🔒)
Marijuana Businesses Seek to Make Federal Restrictions Go Up in Smoke (WSJ🔒)
Bitcoin soars to near 18-month high as ETF speculation mounts (Reuters)

Energy

Auto

Real Estate

There’s Never Been a Worse Time to Buy Instead of Rent (WSJ🔒) 📊
September 2023 Rental Report: Rent Prices Fall for Fifth Consecutive Month Amid Strong Demand for Affordable Units (Realtor.com) 📊

Personal Finance

Car Owners Fall Behind on Payments at Highest Rate on Record (Bloomberg🔒)📊

Technology & Cyber

Controversial Chip in Huawei Phone Produced on ASML Machine (Bloomberg🔒)
China rushes to swap Western tech with domestic options as U.S. cracks down (Reuters)

Meta's Instagram linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia in kids - US states' lawsuit (Reuters)

Life

Health

Entertainment

Apple TV+ Price Rises From $6.99 To $9.99 In Latest Streaming Rate Increase (Forbes🔒)

Sports

For Fun

Share Curated Compositions

THE SLOW BREW ☕

A more relaxed approach to news summaries.

WORLD

North America

Suspect in Maine Shooting Is Found Dead, Ending Sprawling Manhunt (NYT🔒)

The man suspected of killing 18 people and injuring 13 others at a bar and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Friday, officials said, ending a sweeping manhunt that had forced thousands of residents throughout the region to remain in their homes.

Illegal Immigration Is a Bigger Problem Than Ever. These Five Charts Explain Why. (WSJ🔒) 📊

Historically high numbers of people are illegally entering the U.S., straining an immigration system already overwhelmed by the number of families coming across the border to request asylum. Border agents made 2.05 million arrests in the federal fiscal year that ended in September, new government data show, the second year in a row that figure has exceeded two million. In the past, the numbers have risen and fallen based on significant economic and policy changes like recessions and pandemic-era border restrictions. But they never exceeded 1.7 million and never stayed at an elevated level as long as they have the past few years. The record numbers of people entering the country illegally aren’t the only reason border communities are struggling in Texas and shelters are full as far away as Massachusetts. In the past, most migrants were single adults from Mexico looking for work. If caught by the Border Patrol, they could easily and quickly be deported. Now, a fast-growing share are families with children, who are difficult to deport to their home countries. The change started around 2014 and has exploded in the past two years.

Texas AG sues Biden administration for cutting razor wire at the US-Mexico border (CNN)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that he’s suing the Biden administration for allegedly cutting concertina wire at the US-Mexico border. Federal agents, the Republican said in the lawsuit, implemented a policy in late September that saw to the destruction of the wiring, which he claims undermined the state’s border security. “By cutting Texas’s concertina wire, the federal government has not only illegally destroyed property owned by the State of Texas; it has also disrupted the State’s border security efforts, leaving gaps in Texas’s border barriers and damaging Texas’s ability to effectively deter illegal entry into its territory,” the lawsuit states. The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Texas, marks the latest chapter of the legal saga between the state and the Biden administration over border security during a migration surge that is straining local and federal resources.

One-way plane tickets: NYC offers migrants free travel anywhere to move (Politico)

Here’s one approach to discourage migrants from settling in New York City: Give them a free, one-way plane ticket out of town. Mayor Eric Adams is ramping up efforts to fly migrants to the destination of their choice, figuring it’s cheaper than sheltering them for months on end. And he’s simultaneously warning that those opting to stay in New York may be in for a winter of sleeping outside with shelters full.

Smuggling Migrants Toward the U.S. Is a Booming Business (WSJ🔒)

Pervasive networks of smugglers and freelance guides have thrived on demand from a desperate clientele looking to begin new lives in America. U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates 2.4 million migrants arrived at the country’s southwestern border in the year ending Sept. 30, topping the previous year’s total—a minority of them at legal border crossings. Moving them up north has become big business from South America to northern Mexico, and a source of income for residents of poor towns and cities where well-paid employment is scarce. A 2021 United Nations study estimated that migrants from three countries—Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador—paid $1.7 billion a year to smugglers. The number of U.S.-bound migrants crossing through the Darién Gap this year has surged to a record 449,653 as of Tuesday, Panamanian migration officials say, up from a total of around 248,000 in 2022. With 2,000 migrants now traveling into the Darién every day, at $350 each, the basic fees they pay local groups add up to more than $20 million a month. U.S. and Colombian investigators say that the Gulf Clan—a group made up of former paramilitary and rebel fighters who had participated in Colombia’s long civil conflict—takes a major cut of those fees.

NOTE: Fascinating read. I have hard time fully wrapping my mind around the sheer number of people coming up through Central America to the United States. The article says 2.4M people per year came into the US through the southwest border in 2023—which is 6,5K+ people every day!

Visitors tour New Mexico atomic site in likely record attendance fueled by ‘Oppenheimer’ fanfare (AP)

Visitors lined up Saturday to tour the southern New Mexico site where the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated in what officials believe could be a record turnout amid ongoing fanfare surrounding Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film, “ Oppenheimer.” Thousands of visitors are expected at the Trinity Site, a designated National Historic Landmark that’s usually closed to the public because of its proximity to the impact zone for missiles fired at White Sands Missile Range. But twice a year, in April and October, the site opens to spectators. No attendance numbers were immediately available at midnight Saturday. In a social media post, the missile range said vehicles were lined up for more than 2 miles at the site before the tours started Saturday.

Two jets collide at Houston airport after one took off without clearance (WP🔒)

A private jet took off from a Houston airport without permission Tuesday, colliding with another jet that was coming in to land, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. No one was injured in the incident, the FAA announced, but the collision appears to have happened under circumstances similar to the near misses at airports that have alarmed aviation officials this year. The National Transportation Safety Board said it would send a team of six investigators to determine what happened.

Latin America

Hurricane Otis kills at least 27, hammers Acapulco as damage seen in billions (Reuters)

Hurricane Otis claimed the lives of at least 27 people, Mexico's government said on Thursday after one of the most powerful storms to hit the country hammered the beach resort of Acapulco, causing damage seen running into billions of dollars. Otis, which struck Mexico on Wednesday as a Category 5 storm, flooded streets, ripped roofs off homes and hotels, submerged cars and cut communications, road and air access, leaving a trail of wreckage across Acapulco, a city of nearly 900,000.

Europe

Germany to Pass Japan as Third-Largest Economy, Helped by Weak Yen (Bloomberg🔒) 📊

Germany’s economy is projected to dislodge Japan’s as the world’s third largest in 2023, helped by a slide in the yen against the dollar and the euro. The International Monetary Fund’s latest projections estimate Germany’s nominal gross domestic product at $4.43 trillion this year, compared with $4.23 trillion for Japan. That would leave Germany lagging only the United States and China in terms of economic size.

As baby boomers retire, German businesses turn to robots (Reuters) 📊

Some 1.7 million German jobs were unfilled in June, official data shows. The German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) says more than half of companies are struggling to fill vacancies, at an estimated cost to growth in Europe's largest economy of nearly 100 billion euros ($109 billion) per year. But with baby boomers retiring and a new cohort - much smaller, due to low birth rates - joining the labour force, the Federal Employment Agency expects the pool of workers to shrink by 7 million people by 2035. With similar shifts affecting other developed economies, the impact of advanced automation technologies from robotics to AI will be widely felt, said Nela Richardson, chief economist at global payrolls and HR services provider ADP.

Middle East

Drone attacks on American bases injured two dozen U.S. military personnel (NBC)

Two dozen American military personnel were wounded last week in a series of drone attacks at American bases in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command told NBC News on Tuesday. The Pentagon confirmed the attacks last week, but the number of U.S. casualties has not been previously disclosed. Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said Tuesday that over the past week U.S. and coalition forces were attacked at least 10 separate times in Iraq and three separate times in Syria "via a mix of one way attack drones and rockets." Ryder said the groups conducting the attacks are supported by Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

US strikes Syria bases used by Iran-linked groups (BBC)

The US has carried out air strikes against two weapons and ammunition storage facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the strikes were in response to recent attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups. The US strikes were "separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas," he said in a statement. Iran did not immediately comment. The strikes took place on Friday at around 04:30 local time (01:30 GMT) near Abu Kamal, a town on the border with Iraq. US bases in the Middle East have come under attack before, with the US responding with retaliatory strikes.

More F-16s Arrive in Middle East as AFCENT Fighter Footprint Grows to 6 Squadrons (Air and Space Forces)

More U.S. Air Force F-16s arrived in the Middle East, the service announced Oct. 24, as threats to American forces in the region continue to grow. The New Jersey Air National Guard’s 119th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron’s arrival in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) region increases the Air Force’s fighter footprint in the Middle East to six squadrons. U.S. bases in the Middle East have begun to come under attack from militia groups aligned with Iran, and officials have voiced concerned about possible region-wide escalation of the Israel-Hamas war. “What has happened in the last several days is efforts by Iran and Iran proxy forces to seek to escalate this conflict,” a senior defense official told reporters Oct. 23. The addition of another multirole fighter squadron will “provide flexible options to coalition leaders directing air operations throughout the Middle East, including contingency response capabilities and deterrence mission,” according to a release from Air Forces Central (AFCENT). The exact location of the F-16s was not disclosed.

US agrees to send two Iron Dome batteries to Israel (Defense News)

The Pentagon plans to send Israel two Iron Dome missile defense systems as the country continues to fight the militant group Hamas, according to a U.S. Defense Department official. The transfer will aid Israel’s air defense after Hamas on Oct. 7 launched a massive, coordinated attack — making it the deadliest day for Israel in 50 years. Some 1,400 Israelis have since been killed, and Hamas continues to fire rockets from the Gaza strip.

Israeli Army Expands Ground Operations as U.S. Continues to Push for Pause

The Israeli army expanded its ground raids and intensified airstrikes in Gaza during a communications blackout in the strip Friday night, its most significant operation yet ahead of an expected invasion intended to end 16 years of Hamas rule. With tanks, artillery and tens of thousands of troops massed on the Palestinian enclave’s border, Israeli officials said Friday they were moving closer to starting a major ground invasion in response to the Oct. 7 attacks that could take months, expose soldiers to dangerous urban warfare and raise the already mounting civilian death toll. Israeli officials declined to say if Friday night’s incursions amounted to the beginning of the invasion, which could unfold in stages. The Israeli military on Friday again urged Palestinians to leave the northern Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, and head south. Israel said warplanes targeted the network of underground tunnels used by the militants, while tanks barreled beyond the enclave’s borders for the third straight day, and artillery rounds boomed from Israeli territory. How deeply into Gaza the Israeli forces intended to move was unclear. Israeli military spokesman Maj. Nir Dinar declined to say how long the operation would last.

What Palestinians Really Think of Hamas (Foreign Affairs🔒)

The argument that the entire population of Gaza can be held responsible for Hamas’s actions is quickly discredited when one looks at the facts. Arab Barometer, a research network where we serve as co-principal investigators, conducted a survey in Gaza and the West Bank days before the Israel-Hamas war broke out. The findings, published here for the first time, reveal that rather than supporting Hamas, the vast majority of Gazans have been frustrated with the armed group’s ineffective governance as they endure extreme economic hardship. Most Gazans do not align themselves with Hamas’s ideology, either. Unlike Hamas, whose goal is to destroy the Israeli state, the majority of survey respondents favored a two-state solution with an independent Palestine and Israel existing side by side.

NOTE: I think this article does a good job of painting the complexities of the situation in Gaza, as well as the careful, deliberate steps all parties must take in the coming days to avoid further escalation or further fanning of ideological flames.

I went through hell, says 85-year-old hostage released by Hamas (BBC)

Yocheved Lifschitz - one of two hostages freed by Hamas on Monday - says: "I went through hell, that I could not have known". Speaking to the media from a hospital in Tel Aviv, she describes how she was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen on motorbikes. Lifschitz and her fellow captives were hit with sticks and taken into a "spider's web" of underground tunnels, her daughter says. She and her fellow captives slept on mattresses on the floor in the tunnels, Lifschitz says, describing the conditions they were held in. Four hostages have now been released, of more than 200 taken.

Violent videos and ‘brutal voyeurism’ are redefining modern war (WP🔒)

The wars in Israel and Ukraine have fueled an explosion in videos online showcasing the horrors of modern war, bringing killings and cruelty to a global audience of viewers who are unprepared — or all too willing — to watch. The supply of new graphic videos has boomed as fighters use cellphones and GoPro cameras to record or live-stream footage from a point-blank perspective, either for purposes of military strategy or propaganda. So, too, has demand, as internet users flock to loosely moderated video sites, message boards and private groups where they can see and share extreme footage to sate their curiosity or score political points.

Asia-Pacific

China, Philippines Trade Accusations Over Collision in South China Sea (VOA)

China and the Philippines traded accusations over a collision in disputed waters of the South China Sea as Chinese vessels blocked a Philippine boat supplying forces there Sunday, the latest in a series of maritime confrontations. The two countries have had numerous run-ins in areas of the South China Sea in recent months, especially the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands. The Philippines has been sending supplies to troops stationed on a rusted World War Two-era transport ship used as an outpost on the shoal, prompting China's coast guard to repeatedly deploy vessels to block the resupply missions. In the incident on Sunday morning, China's coast guard said there had been a "slight collision" between one of its ships and the Philippine boat while the coast guard was "lawfully" blocking the boat from transporting "illegal construction materials" to the warship. Manila responded by condemning "in the strongest degree" the "dangerous blocking maneuvers" of the Chinese vessel.

South China Sea: Biden says US will defend the Philippines if China attacks (BBC)

US President Joe Biden has warned China that the US will defend the Philippines in case of any attack in the disputed South China Sea. The comments come days after two collisions between Filipino and Chinese vessels in the contested waters. Mr Biden reiterated his "ironclad" defence commitment to the Philippines. Manila has contested Chinese claims to the waters, cutting floating barriers and inviting media to film what it calls Beijing's dangerous moves at sea. Mr Biden's statement on the South China Sea on Wednesday was his strongest since tensions between Beijing and Manila heated up in recent months. "I want to be clear — I want to be very clear: The United States' defence commitment to the Philippines is ironclad. The United States defence agreement with the Philippines is ironclad," he said.

INDOPACOM: Chinese Fighter Comes 10 Feet from B-52 in ‘Unsafe’ Nighttime Intercept (Air and Space Forces)

A Chinese fighter jet closed within 10 feet of a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber in a nighttime intercept over the South China Sea on Oct. 24 that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command deemed “unsafe and unprofessional.” The incident marks the latest close call between Chinese and U.S. aircraft in the region. The Pentagon recently claimed in its annual China Military Power Report that there have been 180 instances of “coercive and risky behavior” between the fall of 2021 and fall of 2023, more than all of the previous decade combined. The Defense Department also released images and videos of 15 such incidents.

NOTE: Article includes video of the intercept.

China Dismisses Defense Minister Amid Swirl of Speculation (NYT🔒)

Just four months ago, China’s defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, was at a forum for regional officials in Singapore, serving as the face of his country’s bold vision for reshaping Asia’s balance of power. He cast China as a force for stability and accused the United States of stirring trouble in the region, suggesting that its leaders should “mind your own business.” Now, General Li has been dismissed after nearly two months out of public view — the latest example of the opacity of high-level politics in China under Xi Jinping, the country’s top leader. General Li, who had been appointed defense minister in March, is the second senior official to be purged this year without explanation and under a cloud of suspicion.

China Signals Zero Tolerance for Sharp Economic Slowdown With Rare Steps (Bloomberg🔒)

Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled that a sharp slowdown in growth and lingering deflationary risks won’t be tolerated, making a series of rare policy moves to boost the economy while refraining from massive stimulus. The government increased its headline deficit on Tuesday to the largest in three decades and unveiled a sovereign debt package that marked a shift from its traditional model for fiscal support. Xi also made an unprecedented trip to the central bank — sending a strong message about his focus on the economy. The one trillion yuan ($137 billion) budget boost and willingness to exceed a long-adhered to 3% limit to the deficit-to-GDP ratio suggests a determination by Beijing to shore up growth for 2024 and avoid complacency.

China chases US and Russia guided-missile submarine capabilities with new vessels (Reuters)

China has launched its first nuclear-powered guided missile submarines, according to the Pentagon's latest report on China's military - giving it land and sea attack options once the sole province of U.S. and Russian vessels. The Pentagon report, published Oct. 20, marks the first apparent confirmation that modified submarines seen in Chinese shipyards over the last 18 months are Type 093B guided missile submarines.

Hong Kong to introduce own national security law in 2024 (Al Jazeera)

Hong Kong leader John Lee has said the Chinese territory will table its own national security law in 2024, four years after Beijing imposed sweeping legislation that critics say has “decimated” freedoms. The Chinese law was brought in after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protests that began over an extradition bill with the mainland and developed into demands for more democracy and political freedom that sometimes turned violent. The broadly worded Beijing law bypassed the local legislature and made acts deemed to be secession, subversion, “terrorism” and collusion with foreign forces punishable with sentences as long as life in prison. Making his second annual policy speech, Lee said some countries were still trying to undermine Hong Kong.

The Corporate Retreat From Hong Kong Is Accelerating (WSJ🔒) 📊

International companies began trickling out of Hong Kong a few years back, uneasy about the financial hub’s tightening ties to mainland China. That first smattering of departures is now turning into a broad retreat involving banks, investment firms and technology companies. The number of U.S. companies operating in the city has fallen for four years in a row, by Hong Kong’s count, hitting 1,258 in June 2022, the fewest since 2004. Last year, mainland Chinese companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong outnumbered American ones for the first time in at least three decades. Coming to Hong Kong used to be “a fairly risk-free matter,” said Simon Cartledge, who runs a research and publishing company in the city and is the author of “A System Apart: Hong Kong’s Political Economy from 1997 until Now.” “Now, it’s not a risk-free place. There are question marks over everything.”

US, S. Korea, Japan Hold First Ever Trilateral Air Exercise, with B-52 and Fighters (Air and Space Forces)

The air forces of the U.S., South Korea and Japan held their first ever trilateral aerial exercise Oct. 22. One American B-52 bomber and three U.S. F-16s flew alongside two F-15Ks from the Republic of Korea Air Force, and four F-2s from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. The exercise marks a major milestone in the trilateral relationship between the allies, which saw a historic boost in August when U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Republic of Korea (ROK) President Yoon Suk Yeol met at Camp David, Md., for the first ever standalone meeting of the three countries’ leaders and pledged to hold “annual, named, multi-domain trilateral exercises”.

Russia says it will build close ties with North Korea 'in all areas' (Reuters)

Russia said on Thursday that it planned to build close ties with North Korea in all areas, a day after South Korea, Japan and the United States condemned what they said were weapons supplies from Pyongyang to Moscow. Asked about the accusation by the three countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "There are many such reports, they are all groundless as a rule, there are no specifics. Such reports have been around for a long time. We see no point in commenting on this." He added: "North Korea is our neighbour and we continue and will continue to develop close relations in all areas." Pressed on whether weapons deliveries had taken place, Peskov said: "We don't comment on this in any way." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit in Russia in September at which they discussed military matters, the war in Ukraine and possible Russian help for the secretive state's satellite programme.

The laidback Australian city key to countering China (BBC) 📊

When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets US President Joe Biden in Washington this week, deterring an assertive China will be on the agenda. At home, Darwin - a city key to the US-led defence alliance in the Pacific - will be watching. Darwin has long been a military town. You can drive across the sparsely populated city in about 15 minutes, but it is home to two military bases. Another one sits on its fringe. It is more common to see someone in military fatigues than a suit. And the roar of aircraft overhead is just another soundtrack to life here. "Looking at a map, the strategic importance of Darwin is obvious," says defence analyst Michael Shoebridge. The Australian government has announced it's moving hundreds more troops to Darwin and other northern cities, and it has also promised a large chunk of its new defence budget will go towards fortifying the region.

Malaysia names Sultan Ibrahim as next king (Reuters)

Malaysia's royal families elected the powerful and outspoken Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar from the southern state of Johor to be the country's next king. The king plays a largely ceremonial role in Malaysia, but the monarchy has become more influential in recent years due to prolonged political instability that has prompted the incumbent king to wield rarely used discretionary powers. Malaysia has a unique system in which the heads of its nine royal families take turns to be monarch for a five-year term. The Southeast Asian country is a parliamentary democracy, with the monarch serving as head of state.

Space

China's youngest-ever crew of astronauts heads to space station (Reuters)

The youngest-ever crew of Chinese astronauts departed for China's space station on Thursday, paving the way for a new generation of "taikonauts" to advance the country's space ambitions in the future. The spacecraft Shenzhou-17, or "Divine Vessel", and its three passengers lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. Leading the six-month mission was former air force pilot Tang Hongbo, 48, who was on the first crewed mission to the space station in 2021.

Axiom Space: Plan to send all-UK astronaut mission into orbit (BBC)

Four UK astronauts could soon be heading into orbit on an all-British mission. An American company that organises visits to the International Space Station (ISS) is developing the plan. Houston-based Axiom has signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK Space Agency to try to make it happen. The project would probably cost £200m or more, but the idea is that it would be funded commercially. There would be no contribution from UK taxpayers.

Government

Mike Johnson Elected House Speaker, Ending Three Weeks of GOP Feuding (WSJ🔒)

The House elected GOP Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana as speaker Wednesday, with the staunch conservative overcoming the divisions that had paralyzed the chamber after a band of hard-liners ousted Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago. The choice of Johnson, who led an effort to help former President Donald Trump try to overturn the 2020 election results, came after House Republicans nominated and then dumped a series of leadership candidates. With a speaker now in place, lawmakers can return to work, with many eager to pass aid for Israel and address a looming government-funding deadline next month.

Congress' Job Approval Drops to 13%, Lowest Since 2017 (Gallup) 📊

Amid a prolonged search for a new House speaker that paralyzed the House of Representatives for three weeks while two U.S. allies are engaged in wars, Americans’ approval of Congress’ job performance fell from 17% to 13%. This is the lowest approval rating of Congress since October and November 2017, when it was also 13%, and is just four percentage points above the all-time low from November 2013.

Grand Old Party: How Aging Makes You More Conservative (WSJ🔒) 📊

One of the most durable forces shaping the U.S. electorate is that voters tend to lean more Republican as they age. But it also matters where they begin on the political spectrum, and there are indications that millennials and the oldest members of Generation Z started out more liberal than prior generations. That has made them a crucial base of support for Democrats, even as some other groups of voters have moved away from the party.

Economy

US Economy Grew at a 4.9% Pace Last Quarter, Fastest Since 2021 (Bloomberg🔒) 📊

The US economy grew at the fastest pace in nearly two years last quarter on a burst of consumer spending, which will be tested in coming months. Gross domestic product accelerated to a 4.9% annualized rate, more than double the second-quarter pace, according to the government’s preliminary estimate Thursday. The economy’s main growth engine — personal spending — jumped 4%, also the most since 2021. Looking ahead, the durability of economic momentum in the fourth quarter will help Federal Reserve officials determine whether to raise interest rates again. Many economists expect growth to slow in the final months of the year as borrowing costs limit purchases of big-ticket items and student-loan payments resume. But should demand stay robust, it risks keeping inflation above the central bank’s 2% goal and may warrant tighter monetary policy.

With Interest Rates Up, Get Ready for Financial Drama (WSJ🔒)

Interest rates have soared. Can financial blowups be far behind? Maybe, but often it isn’t that simple. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes topped 5% this week for the first time since 2007. While not high by historical standards, it is a big move from less than 1%, where it was for most of 2020. “Five percent is more or less the average of investment-grade rates since the time of Alexander Hamilton,” said James Grant, founder and editor of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer. “The problem is the structures that 10 years of ultra-easy money brought about. People blame it on the normalization of rates. The previous bout of abnormal rates is the problem.” Sometimes the cause-and-effect linkages between rising rates and financial blowups are clear-cut. Other times they are more muddled. Credit losses, liquidity crunches and high leverage often play crucial rules, with no way to cleanly isolate the effects of different factors. Here are some historical examples.

America’s Downtowns Are Empty. Fixing Them Will Be Expensive. (WSJ🔒) 📊

For decades, downtown office districts across the U.S. powered local economies, generating commerce, tax revenue and an aggregation of ambition, talent and disposable income. Many cities riddled with half-empty office buildings hope to survive the new remote-work era without bulldozing swaths of downtown and starting from scratch. Experts say American downtowns instead face the biggest urban makeover in 50 years. Even optimists estimate it will take years and cost billions to complete the large-scale changes to usher central-city office districts into a new role—busy neighborhoods where people live, work, raise families and find entertainment.

Business

Fed Floats Deep Cuts to Debit-Card Swipe Fees (WSJ🔒)

The Federal Reserve proposed lowering by about 30% the fees merchants pay to many banks when consumers shop with debit cards, setting off a fight with banks that oppose the changes. At present, merchants pay large card issuers such as JPMorgan Chase JPM and Bank of America 21 cents plus 0.05% of the transaction amount, which is the level set by the Fed in 2011. The Fed can lower the cap if it determines the costs for processing debit-card payments are declining, but it had never previously done so. Wednesday’s plan would reduce the fees to 14.4 cents plus 0.04% of the transaction amount. Going forward, the proposal also envisions adjusting the fees every other year, suggesting more reductions could be on the way. The Fed said it would modestly increase a fraud-prevention fee.

Marijuana Businesses Seek to Make Federal Restrictions Go Up in Smoke (WSJ🔒)

Once banned in Boston, marijuana now pervades the nation, with legal sales in Massachusetts alone grossing more than $5 billion since a 2016 state ballot measure legalized recreational use. But while dispensaries have proliferated across the country, the pot industry faces an obstacle: The federal government still classifies cannabis among the most deadly of narcotics, alongside heroin and LSD. Looking for a remedy, a raft of reefer businesses have turned to superlawyer David Boies, who on Thursday sued Attorney General Merrick Garland, seeking to strike down marijuana restrictions now in place under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The suit, filed in federal district court in Springfield, Mass., argues the prohibition exceeds congressional authority over interstate commerce by interfering with state-based businesses that don’t operate across state lines. As legalization has swept the U.S.—some 38 states, three territories and the District of Columbia now authorize medical or recreational use—the feds largely gave up enforcing the marijuana prohibition. But pot’s formal status creates tax burdens and legal obstacles to integrating the business into the banking system, said Jason Wild, a one-time pharmacist now running TerrAscend, which refers to itself as a “vertically integrated” cannabis company. Marijuana businesses can’t qualify for Small Business Administration loans, Wild said, and retailers are all-cash because credit-card companies and major banks won’t touch clients with a cannabis aroma. Worst of all, he said, marijuana’s prohibited status means companies can’t deduct most expenses from their income, so “you end up paying a much higher percentage of your profits, and then some,” to Uncle Sam.

Crypto

Bitcoin soars to near 18-month high as ETF speculation mounts (Reuters)

Bitcoin rose by nearly 10% on Tuesday to $34,872, its highest in nearly a year-and-a-half, on mounting speculation that an exchange-traded bitcoin fund is imminent. That followed a 10% surge on Monday, when bitcoin posted its best day in almost a year, and the bullishness spread across the wider crypto market and into related stocks. Any approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that owns bitcoin on behalf of fund investors is predicted to fuel demand.

Latest price

Energy

Chevron to buy Hess Corp for $53 billion in all-stock deal (Reuters)

Chevron Corp said on Monday it will buy smaller rival Hess Corp in a $53-billion all-stock deal, as the oil major looks to increase its footprint in oil-rich Guyana. The deal puts two of the top oil giants, Chevron and Exxon Mobil, head-to-head in two of the world's fastest growing oil basins - shale and Guyana. Guyana has become a major oil producer in recent years after huge discoveries by Exxon Mobil, its partner Hess and China's CNOOC, which together produce 400,000 bpd from two offshore vessels and have said they could develop up to 10 offshore projects.

Exxon, Chevron Look to the West in an Increasingly Uncertain World (WSJ🔒)

As the world becomes more dangerous, the two largest Western crude producers are focusing their investments closer to home. Chevron on Monday announced that it was acquiring Hess in a $53 billion deal that gives it access to one of this century’s biggest oil finds in the South American country of Guyana and allows it to double down on shale by expanding its presence to North Dakota. Both regions are established oil producers with limited geopolitical tensions, affording Chevron new reserves with fewer risks. The deal follows a megadeal in the U.S. shale patch by Exxon Mobil, which this month acquired Pioneer Natural Resources in a $60 billion merger that anchors its future to the prolific Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. The back-to-back acquisitions signal that the oil majors are increasingly turning their attention to the Western Hemisphere as international investments are complicated by the threat of expanding regional conflicts, from Ukraine to the Middle East.

Auto

The UAW-Ford Deal: What’s in the Contract, Who Won and What It Means for GM and Stellantis (WSJ🔒) 📊

The United Auto Workers reached a new tentative labor deal with Ford Motor Wednesday night, calling workers off the picket lines at the automaker. If approved, the deal would raise workers’ wages by 25% over the life of the 4½-year contract, boosting the top pay to $40 an hour. Currently, assembly line workers max out at about $32 an hour. Members would receive 11% of that increase upon ratification. The new contract would also shorten the time it takes for production workers to hit that top pay level, reducing it to three years from eight under the agreement that expired in September. Ford members are also expected to receive cost-of-living adjustments to protect wages against inflation, a benefit that was suspended in 2009. Temporary workers will see significant raises of more than 150% over the life of the contract. While union officials didn’t disclose an exact figure Wednesday, Ford had previously offered these workers a wage of about $21 an hour, a jump from the around $17 earned originally. UAW-represented retirees would also enjoy improved benefits if the deal is ratified, including more for pensions and 401(k)s.

GM, UAW Move Closer to a Tentative Labor Contract (WSJ🔒)

The United Auto Workers union is close to completing a tentative agreement on a new contract with General Motors, two days after the union clinched a tentative deal with Ford Motor. The two sides negotiated throughout Thursday night and into Friday morning, and reconvened in the early afternoon in a push to secure a deal, people with knowledge of the talks said. GM presented an offer overnight that is similar to the tentative agreement that the union struck with Ford on Wednesday, the people said.

GM Cruise unit suspends all driverless operations after California ban (Reuters)

General Motors' (GM.N) driverless car unit Cruise said late Thursday it will suspend all operations nationwide after California regulators this week ordered the robotaxi operator to remove its driverless cars from state roads. California's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) on Tuesday said Cruise driverless vehicles were a risk to the public and that the company had "misrepresented" the technology's safety.

Real Estate

There’s Never Been a Worse Time to Buy Instead of Rent (WSJ🔒) 📊

Getting on the property ladder has rarely been tougher for first-time buyers. But a tight housing market isn’t turning out to be a bonanza for landlords either. The cost of buying a home versus renting one is at its most extreme since at least 1996. The average monthly new mortgage payment is 52% higher than the average apartment rent, according to CBRE analysis. The last time the measure looked out of whack was before the 2008 housing crash. Even then, the premium peaked at 33% in the second quarter of 2006. A person taking out a 30-year mortgage today on a $430,000 home with a 10% down payment would fork out around $3,200 in monthly repayments, 60% more than if they had bought the same house three years ago. Rents have risen by a less-blistering 22% over the same period, though this was still moderately ahead of wider U.S. inflation. A collapse in prices would restore the market to balance, but seems unlikely barring a major recession. Those who bought their properties when rates were low have locked in cheap financing: Around 80% of outstanding U.S. mortgages have an interest rate below 5%. This gives homeowners an incentive to stay put, squeezing the supply of houses for sale.

September 2023 Rental Report: Rent Prices Fall for Fifth Consecutive Month Amid Strong Demand for Affordable Units (Realtor.com) 📊

In September 2023, the U.S. median rent continued to see a year-over-year decline for the fifth month in a row, down -0.7% for 0-2 bedroom properties across the top 50 metros, at a similar rate of -0.6% seen in August. The median asking rent was $1,747, down by $5 from last month and $29 less from the peak seen in July 2022. However, it was still $338 (24.0%) higher than the same time in 2019 (pre-pandemic). As we noted in our July Rental Trends report, seasonality and recent momentum in the rental market make it very unlikely the market will see a new peak rent in 2023.

Personal Finance

Car Owners Fall Behind on Payments at Highest Rate on Record (Bloomberg🔒) 📊

Americans are falling behind on their auto loans at the highest rate in nearly three decades. With interest rate hikes making newer loans more expensive, millions of car owners are struggling to afford their payments. It’s a clear indication of distress at a time when the economy is sending mixed signals, particularly about the health of consumer spending. The percent of subprime auto borrowers at least 60 days past due on their loans rose to 6.11% in September, the highest in data going back to 1994, according to Fitch Ratings. In April that figure slipped from a previous high of 5.93% in January. But after burning through tax returns, contending with a shakier job market and grappling with still-elevated inflation, more car owners have become delinquent.

TECH & CYBER

Technology

Controversial Chip in Huawei Phone Produced on ASML Machine (Bloomberg🔒)

China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. used equipment from ASML Holding NV to manufacture an advanced processor for a Chinese smartphone that alarmed the US, according to people familiar with the matter. In a suggestion that export restrictions on Europe’s most valuable tech company may have come too late to stem China’s advances in chipmaking, ASML’s so-called immersion deep ultraviolet machines were used in combination with tools from other companies to make the Huawei Technologies Co. chip, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing information that’s not public. The US has been working with Japan and the Netherlands to prevent China from accessing advanced semiconductor technology of the kind demonstrated in the 7-nanometer chip that powers Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro, in order to curb the country’s technological advancement and prevent it from gaining a military edge. Despite those broad restrictions, Huawei surprised the world in August when it quietly introduced its new smartphone with 5G capabilities and a cutting-edge processor. A teardown of the device conducted by TechInsights for Bloomberg News revealed the chip was produced by SMIC, demonstrating manufacturing capabilities well beyond where the US had sought to stop China’s advance. That prompted questions both about how SMIC was able to manufacture the chip, and the effectiveness of the Washington-led controls.

China rushes to swap Western tech with domestic options as U.S. cracks down (Reuters)

China has stepped up spending to replace Western-made technology with domestic alternatives as Washington tightens curbs on high-tech exports to its rival, according to government tenders, research documents and four people familiar with the matter. China has spent heavily on replacing computer equipment, and the telecom and financial sectors are probably the next target, said two people familiar with the industries. State-backed researchers also identified digital payments as particularly vulnerable to possible Western hacking, according to a review of their work, making a push to indigenize such technology likely.

Cyber

Meta's Instagram linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia in kids - US states' lawsuit (Reuters)

Dozens of U.S. states are suing Meta Platforms (META.O) and its Instagram unit, accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis by making their social media platforms addictive. In a complaint filed on Tuesday, the attorneys general of 33 states including California and New York said Meta, which also operates Facebook, repeatedly misled the public about the dangers of its platforms, and knowingly induced young children and teenagers into addictive and compulsive social media use. The cases are the latest in a string of legal actions against social media companies on behalf of children and teens. Meta, ByteDance's TikTok and Google's (GOOGL.O) YouTube already face hundreds of lawsuits filed on behalf of children and school districts about the addictiveness of social media.

LIFE

Millions work as content creators. In official records, they barely exist. (WP🔒)

In the United States, the video giant YouTube estimated that roughly 390,000 full-time jobs last year were supported by its creators’ work — four times the number of people employed by General Motors, America’s biggest automaker. Once dismissed as a frivolous craze for tweens and teens, the creator class has reshaped American culture, transformed how we get information, rewritten the rules for modern fame and amassed huge levels of wealth and influence. Yet 25 years after this industry first emerged, the U.S. government still has no laws regulating how creators earn a living or flex their power. Without real oversight, the creator economy has ensnared the nation’s attention without a broad understanding of its effects on American society.

NOTE: Below are some interesting quotes from the article that stood out to me:
“The growth of the creator economy has reoriented children’s ambitions: “Influencer” is now ranked one of the most popular career aspirations for American youth, above professional athlete and astronaut.”
“In a survey of 9,500 participants last year by the creator-focused start-up Linktree, only 12 percent of full-time creators said they made more than $50,000 a year, and 46 percent said they made less than $1,000. You “work for the internet. And on the internet, you’re allowed no sick days, no vacation,” Drew Grant, managing editor of the creator guidebook Passionfruit, wrote in a recent newsletter. “The content maw still needs to be fed, 24/7, no holidays, and if you’re not producing new material on schedule, you’re gambling with your entire livelihood.””
“The creator economy has upended the advertising world, routing marketing dollars to creator sponsorships, known as brand deals, and away from the established media companies that have long counted on them to survive. Payments from advertisers to creators in the United States have more than doubled since 2019, to $5 billion, estimates from the market research firm Insider Intelligence show.”
“Professional creators now often recruit and hire teams of specialists: managers, writers, editors, designers and camera operators to pump out content; agents, accountants, event coordinators and publicists to lock down appearances and revenue.”
“The creator economy is deeply unbalanced toward its stars. On the live-streaming service Twitch, viewers last month watched more than 53 million hours of video a day, but 74 percent of that time was spent with the top 10,000 streamers — fewer than 1 percent of the 2 million streamers on Twitch with two or more viewers, according to data from the analytics firm StreamElements. Most small creators were barely watched at all.”
“Creator culture has increasingly become mainstream culture, expanding to fill every possible genre and interest. There are influencers for gambling, fragrances, lawn mowing, cop-watching, acting like a video game background character and documenting the mundanity of daily life.”
“Creators have even gained political clout. The White House now staffs a 20-person team for securing creator promotional partnerships and has briefed YouTubers on the benefits of vaccination and TikTok creators on the war in Ukraine.”
“Jay Alto, a creator strategy consultant who’s worked with stars such as MrBeast and Ryan Trahan, said in a video this summer that YouTube was in its “sensational era, defined by ridiculous ideas, views at all costs and algorithm-optimized content.” “To compete, everyone has to keep raising the bar,” he added. “I’m surprised no one’s died yet.” Matt Navarra, a social media industry analyst, said the lack of a safety net has left most creators to fend for themselves. To succeed, they must not only adapt to shifts in culture and tastes and open their personal lives to potential harassment or attack; they must also do so on platforms where the rules can be changed at any time.”

Conjoined twins: Defying the odds to survive (BBC)

Conjoined twins develop when an early embryo only partially separates to form two individuals and they remain physically connected. They are most often joined at the chest, abdomen or pelvis. It is rare, representing about one in every 500,000 live births in the UK, meaning one set of conjoined twins is born each year in Britain, on average.

Health

Consumer Reports finds more lead, cadmium in chocolate, urges change at Hershey (Reuters)

Consumer Reports on Wednesday said it has found "concerning" levels of lead and cadmium in a new array of chocolate products, and renewed its call for Hershey (HSY.N) to reduce the amounts of heavy metals its chocolate contains. The magazine said 16 of the 48 chocolate products from various makers that its scientists tested recently in seven categories - dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and mixes for brownies, chocolate cake and hot chocolate - contained potentially harmful levels of lead, cadmium or both. All 48 products contained detectable amounts of the metals, and milk chocolate bars, which have fewer cocoa solids, was the only category that did not contain excess amounts, the report found.

Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonade Is Linked to Death in Lawsuit (NYT🔒)

A college student with a heart condition died after she drank a heavily caffeinated drink from Panera Bread, likely thinking it had a safe amount of caffeine, her parents said in a lawsuit filed on Monday. The lawsuit said that the company “failed to properly warn” customers about the potential dangers of its Charged Lemonade and misleadingly marketed the drink as “clean,” even though the large size has more caffeine than a 12-ounce Red Bull and a 16-ounce Monster Energy Drink combined.

NOTE: When I first read this story, I was taken aback that Panera’s lemonade would have “more caffeine than a 12-ounce Red Bull and a 16-ounce Monster Energy Drink combined.” This has the quality of being one of those taken-as-fact statements that causes surprise, emotion, and a call for action…so much so, that it made me wonder if that was accurate.
Before I get into the details, I want to say that I have no idea what kind of signage or information was available or present to the individual who died (the image above is from the article, but may have not been at the store). No matter who is at fault, that is definitely terrible that this young lady died.
In looking up the nutrition facts on the Panera website, the first thing I noticed was that the large lemonade size (mentioned in the article) is 30-ounces; which, by volume, is already larger than 12 ounces and 16 ounces combined, but the article doesn’t say that—it just says “large size.”
From what I can find online, a 16-oz Monster Drink has 160mg of caffeine, and a 12-oz Red Bull drink has 114mg of caffeine; together, this comes to 298 mg in 28 oz. This equates to 9.79 mg per ounce. The Panera drink comes in at 389 mg in 30 oz, or 13 mg per ounce. So, that’s definitely higher.
This informative graphic by Sleepopolis shows the average caffeine in various drinks—from coffee to energy drinks to teas to colas. Interestingly, there is a huge variance among products and brands. So, my takeaway here—be careful what you drink and keep an eye on that labeling.

Entertainment

Apple TV+ Price Rises From $6.99 To $9.99 In Latest Streaming Rate Increase (Forbes🔒)

Apple TV quietly raised the rate of its premium subscription by $3 per month, multiple outlets reported Wednesday, making it the latest streaming service to increase its monthly rate this year, joining Netflix, Disney+, Hulu and Max, amid escalating competition between streaming services.

Sports

Texas Rangers win World Series opener in extra innings (Yahoo)

Adolis Garcia’s home run in the 11th inning gave Texas Rangers a 6-5 victory over Arizona Diamondbacks in the opening game of the World Series. The Rangers, seeking their first World Series crown, had trailed 5-3 in the ninth inning before Corey Seager hit a two-run home run to send the match into extra innings.

NOTE: Wow, what a game!!!

Rugby World Cup

And…for our folks across the pond(s), the Rugby World Cup championship between New Zealand and South Africa is today.

For Fun

Toys inducted into the toy hall of fame

NOTE: Enjoy this little throwback.

A store let customers steal shoes — if they could outrun a pro sprinter (WP🔒)

Employees at Distance, a running store with locations in Europe and Africa, told customers last month that they could steal any item featuring a tag that read, “ROB IT TO GET IT.” But there was one condition.Distance hired one of France’s fastest sprinters, Méba Mickael Zeze, as its security guard that day. To steal an item, customers had to outrun the 29-year-old, who once finished the 100-meter dash in under 10 seconds. Zeze caught 74 customers; only two got away with free merchandise.

Have a great weekend!

The Curator

Share Curated Compositions

Two resources to help you be a more discerning reader:

AllSides - https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news

Media Bias Chart - https://www.adfontesmedia.com/

Caveat: Even these resources/charts are biased. Who says that the system they use to describe news sources is accurate? Still, hopefully you find them useful as a basic guide or for comparison.