Past newsletters

☕ AI anxiety

☕ AI anxiety

Australia’s corporate regulator has told traders, hedge funds and banks it is worried about the risks generative AI poses to market integrity.

☕ Electric profit

☕ Electric profit

Good morning. FYI it’s a long weekend over in the US — meaning their markets will be closed overnight (aka their Monday).

☕ ECB hikes rates

☕ ECB hikes rates

Good morning. Unlike the US, the ECB kept at it overnight with another 25bps rate hike to take its deposit rate to 3.5% — the highest level in more than 20yrs. The global economy has divided in two when it comes to interest rates, with most advanced economies increasing (or at best, pausing) rate hikes while countries like China are cutting rates.

☕ Lowering guidance

☕ Lowering guidance

Good morning. As expected and off the back of yesterday’s inflation news, the US Fed finally paused rate hikes this month. The Fed is hoping inflation will continue its downward trajectory as the prior rate moves wash through the economy.

☕ US inflation

☕ US inflation

Good morning. Old mate J Powell is probably breathing a little easier today after the 10 consecutive rate hikes by him and the US Fed have finally helped slow inflation. The overnight US inflation print for May came in at 4% — well below the June 2022 peak of 9%+.

☕ Welcome back

☕ Welcome back

Good morning. It’s another week of inflation and interest rate decisions, but this time in the US. US inflation drops tomorrow, followed by the Fed rate decision the day after.

☕ NYC timelapse

☕ NYC timelapse

Good morning. If you haven’t seen it already, Gotham New York City is currently in the middle of some apocalyptic-like haze as smoke from nearby wildfires smothered the skyline. There’s a neat little timelapse you can watch here.

☕ Gamestop's back

☕ Gamestop's back

Good morning. Remember Gamestop? The once-upon-a-time meme stock just fired its CEO and appointed its activist shareholder Ryan Cohen as chairman. While you’d think the shares tanked in the post-zero-interest world, the meme stock has reasonably held its value — still up about 25x from mid-2020.

☕ Cheques bouncing

☕ Cheques bouncing

Good morning. RIP cheques. The long battle between tap & go vs. write & cash is coming to an end, with the Treasurer to announce that cheques will be bouncing from the Aussie banking system and be phased out by 2030.

☕ I'm not leaving

☕ I'm not leaving

Good morning. Just a few hours to go until we find out if 4 in 5 LOI readers were right in predicting another rate rise today. Most economists (about 1 in 3) are actually expecting rates to stay flat this month.

☕ Prediction poll

☕ Prediction poll

Good morning. The first Tuesday of the month is upon us, so as is becoming tradition, we’ve got the LOI Interest Rate Prediction™ up and running to get the pulse on whether folks think rates will rise or stay flat.

☕ Big weekend

☕ Big weekend

Good morning. Like most of us after a big weekend, the US will technically run its balance down over the weekend and be out of cash on Monday (June 5). But the debt ceiling bill was comfortably waved through the House. Now it’s on the Senate, where the Democrats have a skinny 51-49 margin and need 60 votes for it to pass.