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Your Daily BriefSeptember 22nd, 2022 |
Good morning, and happy Thursday! Have you heard that, in a new study, scientists at the University of Hong Kong estimated there are 20 quadrillion ants around the world? In other non-math words, for every human on the planet, there are nearly 2.5M ants walking around. Pretty crazy stuff. Anyways, while you gear up for the first day of fall, here’s what we have for you:
In Today’s Brief
- Lebanon: Banks remain shut after series of hold-ups
- Puerto Rico: President Biden approves disaster declaration after Hurricane Fiona
- Aaron Judge: Approaching Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs in a single season
- Apple: Analysts say India & Vietnam will receive more iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch production
- University of Buffalo: Scientists discover how to reverse aging in skeletal muscle cells
- Top Tips: Demand for flights out of Russia increases as Putin calls up reservists; Fed hikes interest rates by 75 basis points; N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James files civil lawsuit against former President Trump
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Russia calls up nearly 300,000 reservists to support its campaign in Ukraine
In televised remarks from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Russia announced that it will draft about 300,000 reservists into its military.
Addressing the nation, Shoigu said 5,937 Russian soldiers had been killed since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, and Putin called for a “partial mobilization” of people with military experience. Describing the draft–the country’s first since World War II–as “necessary and urgent,” Putin said the West had “crossed all lines” by providing weapons to Ukraine. In response, demand for one-way flights out of Russia caused ticket prices to rise, while flights from Moscow to some destinations which allow Russians to enter without a visa sold out, per data from Aviasales.
The address came on the same day that U.S. President Joe Biden spoke at the United Nations General Assembly, saying that Russia had “violated the core tenets” of the global organization’s charter and that the ongoing war “is about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist.”
Federal Reserve hikes interest rates by 75 basis points
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points (or 0.75%) for the third consecutive time at its monetary policymaking meeting yesterday.
Yesterday’s rate hike brings the federal funds rate to a target range of 3.0% to 3.25%, its highest level since 2008. In a press release, the Fed wrote that it “seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. In support of these goals, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 3 to 3-1/4 percent and anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate.”
Per the statement, all Committee members voted in favor of the 75-basis point increase. While it pointed to “robust” job gains in recent months and an unemployment rate that has “remained low,” the Committee also said that it remains “strongly committed” to returning inflation to its target rate of 2%.
New York Attorney General sues former President Trump
N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James announced that she has filed a civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, three of his adult children, and his company, the Trump Organization.
Filed yesterday in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, the lawsuit seeks about $250M in penalties and to prohibit any of the Trumps from leading a company in the state of New York. At a press conference where she announced the charges, James accused the former President and his three adult children–Donald, Jr., Eric, and Ivanka–of misstating the values of real estate properties to obtain favorable loans and tax benefits, saying, “We found that Mr. Trump, his children, and the corporation used more than 200 false asset valuations over a ten-year period.”
The lawsuit comes less than one week after James reportedly rejected an offer from the former President’s lawyers to settle her investigation into the Manhattan-based Trump Organization which began in 2019.
Around the Globe
- Lebanon’s banking association said the country’s banks will remain shut indefinitely in a statement in which it cited ongoing “risks” to employees following a series of bank holdups last week
- The death toll in protests over 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s death in Iran has risen to a total of nine people, according to official sources
- Over 100 people across Russia were detained for protesting military mobilization yesterday after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a draft of nearly 300,000 reservists
On the Homefront
- Walmart announced that it will hire 40,000 seasonal and full-time associates ahead of the holiday season; last year, the company added 150,000 seasonal and full-time associates as well as 20,000 supply chain workers to help alleviate logistic bottlenecks
- Existing home sales fell for the seventh consecutive month in August, dropping 0.4% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.8M units last month
- A federal appeals court allowed the Justice Department to regain access to documents marked as classified that the FBI seized from former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in August
Glitz & Games
- Robert Sarver said he has begun the process to sell the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury basketball franchises one week after the NBA levied a one-year suspension and $10M fine against him
- Singer Camila Cabello has signed with Interscope Records after releasing three studio albums with Epic Records; her first two releases, 2018’s Camila and 2019’s Romance, were both certified platinum by the RIAA, marking sales of over 1M units in the U.S.
- Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees became the sixth player in Major League Baseball history to hit 60 home runs in one season on Tuesday, but didn't homer last night against the Pittsburgh Pirates; Judge is one home run away from tying Roger Maris’ 61-year-old American League record for 61 home runs in a single season
Business & Markets
- Stocks turned lower to end the day with losses after the Fed’s announcement to raise interest rates by 75 basis points (Dow -1.70%, Nasdaq -1.79%, S&P 500 -1.71%)
- The yield on 2-year Treasury bonds passed 4% for the first time since October 2007, rising by 4 basis points to 4.006%
- Apple Inc. will move 25% of iPhone production to India and 20% of iPad and Apple Watch production to Vietnam by 2025, according to a report that JP Morgan analysts sent to clients yesterday
Tip & Tricks
- Bump This: Mumford & Sons frontman Marcus Mumford has gifted us the perfect fall soundtrack with “Better Angels” off his debut solo album (self-titled) - listen on Apple Music and Spotify
- Chow Down: Celebrate fall’s arrival with this recipe for pumpkin pad thai that will make you wish pumpkins were in season all year long
- Nerd Out: Read about how scientists at the University of Buffalo have discovered how to reverse aging in skeletal muscle cells by overexpressing the NANOG protein (insert Benjamin Button references here)
- Jaw Drop: Cycle through pictures of this $250M penthouse at Central Park Tower spanning 17,545 sq. ft of interior space that lays claim to being the highest residence–and having the highest terrace–in the world
- Say What: “Using my emotions–how I felt about playing the role–was the way I approached the entire film, embracing my fears and my vulnerability, my feeling uncomfortable and my insecurities,” actress Ana de Armas said in a cover story for Variety regarding her performance as Marilyn Monroe in Netflix’s Blonde
- Hot Goss: Speaking of Benjamin Button…Brad Pitt revealed who he believes are the most handsome men in the world in a video interview with Vogue (the editors must have cut the part where he said our names…but that’s okay)
- Life Hack: If you’re sore after a workout or feeling sore in general, taking an Epsom salt bath can help relax muscles, relieve pain, and provide an opportunity to de-stress
Looking Back…
On September 22nd: Eight people were hanged in was to be the last executions during the Salem witch trials (1692); the first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published (1888); the first episode of Friends airs on NBC (1994); Italian singer Andrea Bocelli is born (1958).
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