Good morning. US stock futures nudged higher in Monday morning trading as investors look ahead to earnings reports from AI players and Federal Reserve information coming out of Jackson Hole.

"Once we recognize that imperfect understanding is the human condition, there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes"

George Soros

Top News

Fed officials gathers in Jackson Hole to discuss next moves

WHAT: It’s that time of year again! Time for the annual Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming hosted by the Federal Reserve. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to offer some clues as to how the central bank will approach monetary policy decisions this autumn.

WHY: In past years, Powell has used the occasion as an opportunity to steer market expectations about Fed policy during the late summer gap between meetings.

China poised to slash rates

WHAT: The People’s Bank of China is getting ready to unveil its grand plan to cut not just one, but two of its core lending rates. The Bank is set to announce reductions to both one-year and five-year prime lending rates as the world’s second largest economy tries to reverse slowing momentum and sagging demand.

WHY: Policymakers in Beijing have struggled to counter a host of challenges since lifting pandemic restrictions at the start of the year, including a property sector slowdown, weaker exports, record youth unemployment and price deflation as consumer confidence wanes.

UK home prices drop to 5-year lows

WHAT: Asking prices for homes in the UK seem to be doing the limbo — recording their sharpest August drop since 2018 — another sign of a slowdown in the British property market. According to data from property portal Rightmove, new sellers listed their homes for an average price £364,895 — £7012 less than the previous month.

WHY: The drop in asking prices comes at a time of record wage growth and easing mortgage rates, suggesting tentative signs of improved affordability for UK homebuyers.

In Other News

No blocking allowed!

 WHAT: X, the social media platform that once answered to the name Twitter, is on a mission to make the block button disappear like it’s playing a game of digital hide and seek. Company owner Elon Musk recently announced that users won’t have the power to block anymore, except for direct messages.

WHY: Blocking has been a popular safety tool that helps users protect themselves from unwanted interactions on X. It ensures that blocked accounts won’t see your posts and that blocked accounts won’t end up in your feed.

Amazon jumps back into the shipping business

WHAT: Amazon is back in the shipping game after a brief, pandemic-inspired hiatus, and ready to take on the likes of FedEx and UPS! Amazon Shipping, which allows sellers to ship Amazon orders or products sold on other sites, was recently relaunched the e-commerce giant announced.

WHY: Amazon tested the program in the past, but paused it in 2020 to better handle orders that were being made on its own platform amid the pandemic-induced surge in online shopping.

Cruise cuts…

WHAT: General Motors Cruise autonomous vehicle unit has decided to summon half of their San Francisco fleet back to the workshop! The state Department of Motor Vehicles asked for the reduction after a Cruise vehicle without a human driver collided with an unspecified emergency vehicle.

WHY: The development comes just over a week after California allowed Cruise and Google spinoff Waymo to operate autonomous robotaxis through out San Francisco at all hours.

Key Economic Events

• Monday - No Major Economic News

• Tuesday - Fed’s Goolsbee Gives Welcome Remarks

• Wednesday - No Major Economic News

• Thursday - Initial Jobless Claims (wk end 19-Aug)

• Friday - U. Of. Mich. Sentiment

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