Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

November 15th, 2023

Good morning, and happy Wednesday! Capitol Hill almost doubled as a UFC octagon yesterday. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenged Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien to a fight during a hearing; Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders kept the men (who have a history) from coming to blows. And in the lower chamber, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett accused California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the former Speaker of the House, of elbowing him in the kidneys (McCarthy denied it). Dana White’s wheels must be turning.

In Today’s Brief

Biden-Xi: Meet today in San Francisco
Russia: Putin stifles election reporting
Seinfeld: Star downplays possible return
Starbucks: Baristas striking tomorrow

... and more

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Top Tips

Economy boosted by strong inflation report

Better-than-expected inflation numbers sparked optimism and a big day on Wall Street yesterday.

CPI hits two-year low: Inflation was flat from October and the consumer price index increased 3.2% from a year ago, beating projections. The core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy prices) was up 0.2% MoM and 4% YoY against forecasts of 0.3% and 4.1%, respectively.
Markets and mortgages: Stocks soared off the report, which suggests the Fed is done raising interest rates. Major indexes all finished up while mortgage rates tumbled, with 30-year fixed rates down by 0.125 percentage points amid a tough housing market. Treasury yields also fell 4.5%. Ninety-one percent of the New York Stock Exchange volume went up in price, along with 85% of stocks on the Nasdaq going up.
What it means: The deceleration of inflation has investors and traders betting the Fed is done raising interest rates. Core CPI was still well above the Fed's goal of 2%, so rate cuts are not expected until next year.

Israel-Hamas hostage deal in works

President Joe Biden vowed Israel and Hamas will reach an agreement to release hostages and establish a multi-day war pause.

Still some hurdles: A deal would see Israel and Hamas exchange hostages and prisoners, along with a fighting halt for as many as five days. Israel is concerned about returning fighters to the militant group; Hamas has not been clear about how many hostages it would free. The U.S. and Qatar are also involved in negotiations.
Hospital crisis: Israeli forces entered Al-Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, late last night to conduct what it said was a tactical raid. The White House reiterated Israel's claim that Hamas is using the hospital for military purposes. Almost 200 people have died at the failed hospital, according to Gaza officials.
DC rally: Congressional leaders made a bipartisan show of support at a pro-Israel rally in Washington. Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas has lost control of Gaza City and the northern part of the enclave.

House passes bill to avoid shutdown

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has scored his first victory with the gavel, passing a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown on Friday with help from Democrats.

Bipartisan vote: Johnson’s two-step proposal, which funds some government programs until Jan. 19 and others until Feb. 2, was approved on a Democratic majority vote – 336 to 95. The bill was supported by 209 Democrats and only 127 members of the 221-member Republican majority. Johnson prevailed despite dissent from the right flank of his party, including the House Freedom Caucus.
Onto the Senate: The bill now moves to the Democratic-held upper chamber. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, has indicated he would support the House's continuing resolution. If the Senate passes the bill, President Biden has said he will sign it into law. The bill does not include new funding for Israel and Ukraine.
The timeline: A CR must be passed by Friday to prevent a government shutdown. Then both sides will need to take up the budget battle again with just two months before the next deadline.

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Quick Tips

U.S. News

President Biden and China President Xi Jinping will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco; it will be their first in-person meeting in a year (More)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said a fire that shut down Interstate-10 outside of Los Angeles last weekend is believed to be the result of arson; officials expect repairs to reopen the damaged stretch of highway will take 3-5 weeks (More)
The U.S. Army has granted clemency to 110 Black soldiers convicted by court martial after the 1917 Houston Riots during World War I; service records will be updated and some descendants may be eligible for benefits (More)

World News

Russia President Vladimir Putin has instituted new restrictions on how the country’s media can cover elections; the measure will stifle independent reporting prior to his anticipated reelection campaign next year (More)
Germany Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the European Union will fail to provide Ukraine with the 1M artillery shells it pledged to deliver by next March; the bloc has only provided 300K so far (More)
Iceland remains on guard awaiting a volcanic eruption; local authorities have begun building a protective trench in efforts to defend a power plant near the evacuated village of Grindavik (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Actor and comedian Jason Alexander said no one has contacted him about a Seinfeld reboot, echoing former co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus; creator Jerry Seinfeld recently hinted at the project (More)
Police in England announced an arrest in connection to the on-ice death of former NHL player Adam Johnson, whose throat was slashed during a professional game last month; the unnamed suspect – presumed to be opposing player Matt Petgrave – was charged with manslaughter (More)
San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler died at 63; the businessman spent aggressively and had one of baseball’s highest payrolls despite residing in one of the sport’s smallest markets (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes all closed higher; the Nasdaq led the gains (Dow +1.43%, Nasdaq +2.37%, S&P 500 +1.91%)
Unionized Starbucks workers are expected to hold a one-day strike tomorrow and walk off the job during the annual “Red Cup Day” promotion; labor leaders say the company has not negotiated in good faith with organized stores (More)
Many U.S. big box and grocery stores are considering pulling back on self-checkout services; Costco and Walmart are among companies dealing with customer complaints and merchandise losses (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Students at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School, an all-boys school that is the city’s oldest, volunteer to serve as honorary pallbearers at the funerals of deceased veterans and others who die unhoused or without a family
Be Ready: The Transportation Security Administration announced it expects this to be the busiest holiday travel season in history with record crowds at airports; 30 million passengers are expected to fly in the 12-day Thanksgiving period beginning Friday
Take Note: Google plans to begin deleting inactive Gmail accounts – and all content associated with the accounts – starting on December 1; accounts that have not been active for at least two years will be shuttered with cybersecurity in mind
Too Cute: Sometimes it takes a few tries to learn something new, so kudos to this adorable Australian Shepherd that persisted and figured out that going over, and not under, the stairs is the best way to climb to the next level
Wild Ride: An Air Atlanta Icelandic flight had to make an emergency turnaround last week because a horse was loose in the cargo hold; the flight to Belgium was diverted back to JFK in New York after the animal managed to get out of its holding pen
Go Figure: When you think of popular surfing destinations, you typically envision sandy beaches and sunny skies in places like California and Hawaii, but the coast of Scotland has become the new hot spot to hang ten
Life Hack: An apple a day may not keep the doctor away, despite the old proverb, but researchers believe eating another fruit regularly could provide a significant benefit; a new study suggests daily consumption of strawberries can reduce the risk of dementia in some middle-aged people

Tip-Offs

Ranking Hallmark Channel’s top Christmas movies before the holidays.

… while $500K doesn’t get you what it used to in your rural hometown.

John Oliver has thrown an annual New Zealand tradition into chaos.

American whiskey makers are concerned about burdensome new tariffs.

A New Jersey congressman is pushing to ban a popular children’s toy.

Two space telescopes generated this incredible photo of the universe.

The United Kingdom will finally begin recommending chickenpox vaccines.

… and Prince Harry called his dad and wished him a happy 75th birthday.

Looking Back…

On November 15th: The League of Nations holds its first meeting in Switzerland (1920); Microsoft launches the Xbox gaming console (2001); the world population reaches eight billion (2022); professional wrestler “Macho Man” Randy Savage is born (1952).

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