Sunday, December 10, 2023

Fed's possible interest rate cuts / EU's new AI law / U.S. could restore NAFTA

Plus: Elon Musk restores Alex Jones' account on X

Inside Business

For December 10, 2023

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What to look for: The Federal Reserve is set to announce new interest rate measures this upcoming week. The market is divided, with some investors thinking that the Fed is ready to cut interest rates for the first time this year, while others believe that interest rates will remain the same and the first rate cut will be seen in 2024. Starting from December 2022, when interest rates went up to 4.5%, the Fed has hiked rates numerous times, reaching 5.5% in November 2023.

What to look for: After 36 hours of negotiations yesterday, the European Union and the European Parliament reached a historic deal on laws regarding the regulation of Artificial Intelligence. EU officials said European countries will now become the "first to have fully regulated AI." Look for further technical steps to be taken this week that will define details regarding private data, security, innovation, etc. The law is set to be implemented in 2025, giving interest groups enough time to lay out their vision.

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What to look for: The U.S. government is in internal talks to potentially restore the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), almost four years after the agreement was replaced with USMCA by former President Donald Trump. The three North American countries form one of the largest trade blocs in the world by GDP, but NAFTA negotiations came to a halt when Trump's list of demands toward Mexico and Canada was not fulfilled, leading to a new agreement. While talks are in the preliminary stage, more details could be made public in the coming days, with the topic having the potential to become a talking point in the presidential election.

What to look for: Elon Musk has restored Alex Jones' account on X, years after Jones was banned. Musk posted a poll asking users on X.com if Jones' account should be restored, with 70% voting in favor. Jones, a famous conspiracy theorist, made headlines when he claimed that the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, which resulted in 20 dead children, was a hoax. Some of Jones' followers harassed the children's family members. The families sued Jones, with the court giving $1.5B in legal judgments to the families and ordering Jones to pay at least $85M over the course of 10 years. The decision to restore his access could spark controversy among a number of advertisers and users.

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What to look for: A weak stock market performance is forcing China to take several economic measures to boost investor confidence. The latest step is a proposed removal of trading commissions for mutual funds that China's securities regulator aims to implement soon. With this law, fund managers would not be allowed to pay trading commissions to external consultants, financial terminals, or databases.

What to look for: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled high-powered magnetic toys due to the magnetic balls being stronger than what U.S. regulations allow. If swallowed, the toys could attract each other in the digestive tract and could lead to blood poisoning and/or damaged intestines. The CPSC is aware of seven deaths due to the toys, which were designed by a company in North Carolina and manufactured in China. Look for retailers to remove similar products from other manufacturers, and for this case to possibly lead to more investigations into toy companies.

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Ben Pasternak, the co-founder of food tech company Simulate, has been ousted from his position as the CEO of Nuggs, a subsidiary of Simulate that produces fake meat.
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Arbër Musliu

Writer

Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime.

This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield

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