📈 How Much Higher For How Much Longer?

Good morning. US stock futures rose in Thursday morning trading as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision and a May consumer inflation print that came in cooler than expected.

📈 Fed tows line on interest rates

📝 Our report: The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at a 23-year high at its most recent meeting, dialing down its rate-cut forecast for 2024 from three to one. The US central bank voted to keep its benchmark interest rate in a range of 5.25%-5.50% at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting. The fed funds rate has been in this range since July 2023.

 🔑 Key points:

• It was a close call on the revised median of rate cuts predicted for 2024. Eight officials estimated two cuts this year, while seven officials predicted one cut. Four officials saw no cuts happening this year.

• Fed officials also raised their 2024 outlook for inflation, seeing prices end the year at 2.8% from 2.6% previously as measured by their preferred inflation measure — the "core" Personal Price Expenditures (PCE) index.

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell at a press conference declined to offer any guidance on when a first cut could happen, saying to reporters that "I don’t have a precise date for you" and that "we can’t know what the future holds."

💡 So what: The U.S. Federal Reserve is deciding to hold interest rates higher for longer to curb inflation and prevent the economy from overheating. By maintaining elevated rates, the Fed aims to cool down demand, stabilize prices, and ensure that inflation trends back towards its target level, while also considering the risks of economic imbalances that could arise from prematurely lowering rates.

Thursday - No Major Economic News

Friday - Consumer Sentiment

📈 29 investing lessons from John Templeton

💰 How much life insurance do you need?

🛒 The perks of being a patient shopper

 📈 The Safest Investment You Could Make

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🎥 Sony acquires cinema chain

WHAT: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) just bought U.S. cinema chain Alamo Drafthouse, giving the studio tighter control over movie distribution. Alamo, which was founded in 1997, will continue to operate all 35 of its cinemas across 25 metro areas under the Alamo Drafthouse brand, the companies said in a statement. The chain brings over 10 million guests annually, and has a core audience of 4 million loyalty members, the companies said.

WHY: Alamo had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2021, as the theater business was hit by the pandemic due to stay-at-home restrictions, and it emerged from the bankruptcy less than four months later, Variety had reported.

🏢 WeWork emerges from bankruptcy

WHAT: WeWork has crawled out of bankruptcy, and now everyone's watching to see if the new leadership can finally turn the struggling co-working giant into a success story. Early overexpansion shackled WeWork with mounting debt and unsustainable real estate costs, and the New York-based company turned to restructuring in a bid to resurrect its business.

WHY: WeWork emerged from the restructuring as a private company. That means its future financial disclosures will be limited, but the company says it's shed more than $4 billion in debt, raised $400 million of additional equity capital, and cut future lease obligations in half — which it expects to bring some $12 billion in future savings.

🐟 A “fishy” situation…

WHAT: Conagra Brands is being sued for allegedly tricking consumers with its Mrs. Paul's and Van de Kamp's frozen fish products, accused of "short weighting" and falsely claiming they're "100% whole fish." In a proposed class action filed in Chicago federal court, three consumers said Conagra artificially boosts the weight of 10 fish stick and fish fillet products by adding water and sodium tripolyphosphate, "which may then ooze out as a white goo" when cooked.

WHY: Conagra faces other litigation over its fish. In March, a federal judge in Chicago refused to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it misled consumers into believing that nine Mrs. Paul's and Van de Kamp's products were sustainably sourced, including by calling them "Good for the Environment."

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