The Federal Reserve maintained its benchmark interest rate at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. The Fed lowered its estimate of growth in the American economy this year, to 1.4%, and raised its forecast for unemployment. Its “dot plot” still suggests there will be two more rate cuts this year.
The U.S. housing market had nearly a half million more sellers than buyers in April, the biggest such gap on record in seasonally adjusted data going back to 2013, according to an analysis by real-estate brokerage Redfin.
Tensions between OpenAI and Microsoft are escalating over OpenAI’s desire to loosen Microsoft’s control over its AI products and computing resources. OpenAI is considering antitrust complaints against Microsoft, including seeking regulatory review and a public campaign, to secure Microsoft’s approval for its conversion into a for-profit company.
Big Tech is pushing for a 10-year ban on AI regulation by individual US states, in a controversial move that has split the artificial intelligence industry and Trump’s Republican party. Lobbyists are acting on behalf of Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta to urge the Senate to enact the moratorium.
Amazon plans to reduce its workforce in the coming years because increasing use of artificial intelligence will eliminate the need for certain jobs. Chief Executive Andy Jassy, in a note to employees Tuesday, called generative artificial intelligence a once in a lifetime technological change that is already altering how Amazon deals with consumers, other businesses and conducts its own operations.
Tweedy, Browne, a value-investing firm, re-examined a 1990s study on significant insider purchases and found that stocks with large insider buys and low price-to-book ratios outperformed the market. The firm launched an ETF following this strategy (NYSE Ticker: COPY), which has outperformed the S&P 500 by nearly 13 percentage points. While the strategy shows promise, limitations include the small size and international nature of many qualifying stocks, as well as the limited number of stocks that meet the criteria.
Meta and Oakley have teamed up on a new pair of smart glasses that can record 3K video, play music, handle calls, and respond to Meta AI prompts. They start at $399 and have double the battery life of Meta’s Ray-Bans.
