Good morning. US stock futures moved higher in Wednesday morning trading ahead of the latest interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve.

"Benign neglect is the secret to long-term investing success"

Charles Ellis

Top News

Growth needs to slow down!

WHAT: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making a statement that might shock the economic pants off of her peers: she’s calling for economic growth to actually slow down! Speaking to reporters at a climate finance event in New York, Yellen said “growth has to slow” to a pace more in line with its potential rate to get inflation back to target levels.

WHY: US gross domestic product is still expanding at a pace well above what Federal Reserve officials regard as the non-inflationary growth rate of around 1.8%, often referred to as the “potential” growth rate.

Global debt hits record highs

WHAT: Debt, debt everywhere! Global debt just did a cannonball into the record books at a whopping $307 trillion in the second quarter of 2023. According to a report by the Institute of International Finance, global debt in dollar terms rose by $10 trillion in the first half of the year, and has gone up by over $100 trillion over the past decade.

WHY: More than 80% of the latest build up comes from the developed world with the US, Japan, Britain and France registering the largest increases.

China appeals WTO report on US steel, aluminum tariffs

WHAT: China’s not giving up the fight just yet! They’ve filed an appeal against a World Trade Organization (WTO) report that recognized the US’ action on steel and aluminum as security measures the Chinese Commerce Ministry said.

WHY: The US imposed a 25% duty on steel imports and a 10% duty on aluminum imports from countries including China in 2018 under the Donald Trump administration.

In Other News

Disney commits big bucks to theme parks, cruises

WHAT: Disney’s got a wallet that’s ready for a rollercoaster ride! The company said via a regulatory filing that they’d be ramping up spending to the tune of over $60 billion on their theme parks and cruise lines over the next decade.

WHY: The Disney Parks, Experiences and Product Segment continues to do well for the company, with revenue rising 13% in its fiscal third quarter.

Amazon gears up for holiday hiring spree

WHAT: Amazon is about to take its holiday hiring to new heights! The company announced that they’re going all in with an additional 250,000 full and part time employees for the holiday season. In a blog post, Amazon added that they were also investing $1.3 billion this year toward pay hikes for warehouse and transportation employees.

WHY: Amazon noted that more jobs were available because the company opened over 50 new fulfillment centers, delivery stations, and same-day delivery sites in the US this year.

Pay for X - the site formerly known as Twitter?

WHAT: Elon Musk just dropped a bombshell in a livestreamed event on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter! He’s planning to ask all X users to “chip in” by rolling out a subscription fee for use of the social media platform. The comments come as X struggles to regain trust with advertisers.

WHY: Musk said earlier this month the X’s ad revenue was down 60%, blaming the company’s ad challenges on civil rights and consumer groups putting pressure on big brands.

Key Economic Events

• Wednesday - FOMC Interest Rate Meeting

• Thursday - Philadelphia Fed Index, Initial Jobless Claims (wk end Sep 15)

• Friday - No Major Economic News

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