Inflation Slowing Down, NRA Protesters, More Ukraine Aid

Your Daily Debrief

May 28th, 2022

Good afternoon, and welcome to your long Memorial Day weekend! It’s Saturday, May 28th, and here’s what we’ve got for you:

Today’s Highlights

Inflation shows some signs of slowing down
Protesters assemble outside of NRA convention in wake of Texas shooting
Biden administration considers sending long-range rockets to Ukraine

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Inflation shows some signs of slowing down

According to the core personal consumption expenditures price index (or “PCE price index”) released in the Commerce Department’s report on Friday, prices of goods and services in the United States rose less drastically in April than they did in March…which indicates that inflation may be slowing down.

Including food and energy prices, data from the PCE price index—the Fed’s preferred gauge to track inflation—shows that consumer prices rose 6.3% in April compared to one year ago, a decrease from the year-over-year increase of 6.6% in March. March's rise was the fastest since January 1982, and April’s reading marks the first time the index decreased from the month before since late 2020.

Inflation hit a 40-year high this year as factors such as supply chain constraints, unprecedented fiscal stimulus during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine all contributed to rising consumer prices. To combat inflation pressures, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 50 basis points—or 0.50%—in March. Per the minutes from the Fed’s May meeting, the central bank plans to increase rates by similar increments at least two more times this year to help cool down rising prices.

Protestors gather outside of NRA convention in wake of Texas shooting

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside of the annual NRA convention in Texas that was held three days after the mass shooting at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School that left 19 children and 2 teachers dead.

Friday’s protest outside the convention—where demonstrators engaged in collective shouts of “Vote them out” and “Lives over profit”—was organized by groups including Moms Demand Action, Houston Federation of Teachers, the Texas American Federation of Teachers, Black Lives Matter Houston, and the local Democratic Party.

Following the shooting on Tuesday, a number of speakers and performers canceled appearances at the convention, including several Texas politicians and “American Pie” singer Don McLean, who considered it “disrespectful” to perform after the country’s latest mass shooting. Former President Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz still made their scheduled appearances at the convention, with the latter saying in an address to the gun rights lobbying group, “We must not react to evil and tragedy by abandoning the Constitution or infringing on the rights of our law-abiding citizens.”

Biden administration considers sending long-range rockets to Ukraine

As part of a larger military and security package that could be announced as early as next week, the Biden administration is considering sending Ukraine advanced, long-range rocket systems that leaders in Kyiv have been requesting for months.

In recent weeks, President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials in Ukraine have pleaded for the United States and its allies to provide the country with the Multiple Launch Rocket System (or “MLRS”), along with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (or “HIMARS”). Certain munitions fired by the MLRS are capable of reaching distances far greater than any of the systems Ukraine currently has (up to 190 miles), which Ukrainian officials argue could help turn the tide in the ongoing war with Russia. After the news broke on Friday, prominent Russian TV host Olga Skabeeva warned that the United States would “cross a red line” if it supplied Ukraine with the systems.

The White House has wavered for weeks on whether to send the systems, due to concerns that Ukraine may use the systems to carry out offensive attacks inside of Russia. At this time, neither President Biden nor Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved the next batch of aid for Ukraine.

Around the Globe

Russian gas giant Gazprom halted its gas supply to Finland two days after Finland formally applied to join NATO
Mysterious mounds determined to be ancient pyramids were discovered in a remote part of the Amazon
Japan opens its borders to foreign visitors and tourists for the first time in two years

On the Homefront

Over 1,100 flights within the United States as well as to and from the U.S. were canceled due to severe weather conditions and airline staffing shortages
Texas Department of Public Safety director Steven McCraw says police hesitating to enter the classroom where the shooting took place at Robb Elementary School was the “wrong decision”
President Biden is reportedly nearing a decision to cancel $10,000 of student debt per borrower

Glitz and Games

Jurors began deciding the verdict in the much-publicized defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard; deliberations resume Tuesday
Steph Curry wins the first Earvin “Magic” Johnson Western Conference MVP award as Golden State Warriors advance to the NBA Finals
Musician Harry Styles announces a partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety to donate proceeds from his upcoming North American tour to “end gun violence”

Money Moves

All three major stock market indexes rose on Friday, with the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 snapping a 7-week losing streak (Dow +1.76%, Nasdaq +3.33%, S&P 500 +2.47%)
Egon Durban won’t leave Twitter’s board even though shareholders voted to oust him from the director position, per the company’s regulatory filing released yesterday
Ford beats Tesla to the punch by delivering the first electric F-150 Lightning truck to rural Michigan man (who also owns a Tesla Model 3)

Tip & Tricks

Bump This: Calvin Harris is back with a new single “Potion,” featuring Dua Lipa and Young Thug. Check it out on Spotify and Apple Music
Binge Watch: The fourth installment of Stranger Things dropped on Netflix, with each episode reportedly costing $30 million to create
Hot Goss: Elon Musk dares Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to ask her followers whether they distrusted politicians or billionaires more after tweeting a similar question to his followers
Cash Grab: Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio makes like a poet and warns that “cash is still trash” because it “will be taxed by inflation”
Life Hack: Putting paper towels or pages of old newspapers at the bottom of your trash bin helps absorb liquids and food juices

Question of the day

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Looking Back…

On May 28th, 1961, Amnesty International was founded to inform public opinion about human rights and to secure the release of political prisoners; it went on to win the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize.