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Good morning. US stock futures dipped slightly in Friday morning trading as investors digested comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that the Fed was not done in its fight against inflation.

🏦 Commercial lending continues slide as banks tighten purses

📝 Our report: US banks are tightening their loan belts, handing out fewer business loans amid 11 interest rates hikes by the Federal Reserve. The volume of commercial and industrial loans that banks dish out to companies shrank by about 0.2% in September, marking a sixth straight month of declines according to the Fed’s latest batch of data.

 🔑 Key points:

• Less borrowing often reflects declining investments by businesses and a fall in hiring activity which in turn weighs on economic growth.

• The extended stretch of declines is spurring some market watchers to fret that the economic deceleration that the Fed has been trying to engineer to curb inflation is now closer to the horizon.

• Businesses on weaker financial footing will be more vulnerable to a possible economic downturn as the riskiest borrowers are often choked off from credit.

💡 So what: When banks tighten lending it can impact the economy in several ways. Reduced bank lending could lead to a slowdown in business investments, contraction in consumer spending and even a slump in the job market. It is important to note that while tighter lending can prevent excessive risk taking and financial instability, an overly restrictive credit environment can stifle economic growth.

 Friday - No Major Economic News

 🏡 Here’s a beginner’s guide to real estate investing

💸 Who’s warning about the dangers of decoupling from China?

📊 Where is the IPO market going?

💰 Bitcoin surges to 18-month high

WHAT: Looks like Bitcoin is having a comeback moment! The world’s largest cryptocurrency soared past $37,000 to reach its highest level in 18 months. The rally has in part, been fueled by optimism that regulators could approve the first spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

WHY: Bitcoin has now gained more than 32% over the past month, and 120% since the beginning of January.

🤖 Nvidia plans new chips for China

WHAT: Nvidia is gearing up to launch three new chips for China as the company continues to face US export restrictions for shipping advanced AI chips to the Asian powerhouse.

WHY: Last month, the US AI chip giant said new export restrictions announced by Washington would block it from selling two of its modified advanced AI chips which were initially created for the Chinese market last year.

📱 EU calls on TikTok, YouTube to detail protections for minors

WHAT: European Union (EU) industry chief Thierry Breton is calling on video-sharing platforms YouTube and TikTok to explain how they’re protecting children from harmful content on their platforms in line with new EU regulations. The move by Breton comes a few days after he told TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to spare no effort to counter disinformation on its platform.

WHY: The new EU rules, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) requires Big Tech to do more to fight harmful and illegal content online, especially content that targets minors.

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