Good morning. US stock futures traded lower in Friday morning trading as investors digested news of a slower than expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

"All investors need to learn how to be at peace with their decisions"

Seth Klarman

Top News

Biden goes after credit card fees

• US President Joe Biden announced plans to reduce billions in credit card late fees while also calling for increased competition in mobile app stores, accusing Apple and Alphabet of hurting consumers with inflated prices.

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will formally propose a rule to cap late payment credit card fees at $8 - from an average now of roughly $30 - estimating the move will save consumers a total of $9 billion a year.

IMF: Higher for longer is the way

• The International Monetary Fund is encouraging central banks around the world to make it clear to markets that elevated interest rates may be required for some time in order to arrest rising inflation and avoid a rebound in price pressures.

• "Crucially, central banks must avoid misreading sharp declines in goods prices and easing policy before services inflation and wages, which adjust more slowly, have also moderated markedly" the IMF said.

UK facing bleak economic prospects

• The Bank of England stated that a decrease in the workforce has resulted in a hindrance to the British economy and has created a bleak economic outlook for the UK.

• In one of the most dismal forecasts it has produced, the central bank said the economy is already in a recession and will struggle for growth even when the downturn is over, citing 2026 as the closest time period for a return to pre-pandemic levels of output.

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In Other News

Fastest growth in history!

• ChatGPT, OpenAI's chatbot, has become the fastest growing consumer application in history, after crossing 100 million monthly active users in the two months since it launched.

• A report conducted by UBS added that about 13 million unique visitors used ChatGPT per day in January, more than double the levels in December.

Amazon workers strike in Spain

• Workers at Amazon's Barcelona logistics center staged a two-day indefinite strike against the company's plan to close the warehouse and transfer employees to other provinces

• Last month, Amazon announced more than 18,000 job cuts globally, mainly impacting its e-commerce and human resources division, amid similar moves by other tech companies.

Drilling for Alaskan oil

• The US government released a long awaited study that recommends allowing a major oil development on Alaska's North Slope that supporters say could boost US energy security.

• ConocoPhillips Alaska, one of the lead project developers, has estimated that the development could create as many as 2000 job during construction, 300 permanent jobs and generate between $8 billion and $17 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues.

Key Economic Events

• Friday - US Unemployment Rate

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