10.11.2024

 

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Good morning. It's Friday, Oct. 11, and we're covering the latest on inflation, Robotaxi's slow glide onto the scene, and much more. First time reading? Join over 3.9 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.

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Need To Know
 

Inflation Ticks Down

The consumer price index dropped to an annual inflation rate of 2.4% in September, the lowest annual level since February 2021. Separately, weekly jobless claims surged to 258,000 last week, the highest number in 14 months—possibly the consequence of a chain of hurricanes and recent labor strikes.

 

The consumer price index—a data tool dating to the 1910s—takes roughly 80,000 price measurements of more than 500 types of goods each month, with the percent change indicating overall price movements (how it works). The measure peaked at an annual rate of 9.1% in June 2022, but has steadily dropped to near the Federal Reserve's target annual rate of 2%. 

 

The Federal Reserve last month made its first cut to the federal funds rate in four years, with more cuts expected. The inflation report is the last before the Nov. 5 presidential election, for which surveys suggest the economy is the most important issue. 

 

Honk if You Like Robotaxis

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the highly anticipated robotaxi last night, a driverless, $30K vehicle called the Cybercab. Tesla says the car—which lacks pedals and steering wheels—will go into production by 2027. The company also debuted a 20-person robovan and touted its Optimus robots. 

 

The debut is almost a decade in the making and comes amid a series of lawsuits and investigations over Tesla's supervised driving vehicles. The company's investors hope robotaxis will generate almost 90% of Tesla's value and earnings by 2029. This would involve drivers being able to rent their vehicle through an app when not in use, earning passive income in a "part Uber, part Airbnb" model. Tesla hopes electric vehicle sales will eventually account for only 9% of Tesla's value. 

 

Tesla is not the first company to pursue this model; Google’s Waymo already services 100,000 paid rides per week, including in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Amazon's Zoox is coming soon to San Francisco.

 

'King of Clay' Retires

Professional tennis legend Rafael Nadal announced his retirement yesterday, with his final match set for next month’s Davis Cup finals in Malaga, Spain. Nadal has played in only nine tournaments since the start of 2023 due to injuries and recovery from surgery.

 

The 38-year-old Spaniard achieved remarkable success during his 23-year career. He won 22 Grand Slam titles, including a record 14 French Open championships, and secured 92 ATP titles, with 36 at the Masters 1000 level, a tier below Grand Slams. He holds the record for the longest winning streak on a single surface in the Open Era, winning 81 consecutive matches on clay courts, and boasts a 1,080–227 record, second behind Novak Djokovic. He has two Olympic gold medals, spent a total of 209 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings, and earned nearly $135M in prize money.

 

Beyond tennis, Nadal is a five-time Laureus Award winner for his foundation, which provides opportunities for at-risk adolescents through sports and education.

In partnership with LMNT

Stay Salty

 

It's easy to forget that our sweat isn't just water. But why is it that we only down a glass of water after a long run or a hot day? Our sweat consists of water and salt, so next time you're reaching for that glass of water ... remember to replenish electrolytes too.

 

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In The Know
 

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Author Han Kang, best known for surreal novel "The Vegetarian," becomes South Korea's first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature; Han previously won the prestigious Man Booker International Prize in 2016 (More

> Sean "Diddy" Combs makes first court appearance in sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy case; judge sets May 2025 trial start date (More

> Disney World and Universal Orlando to reopen today after Hurricane Milton forced rare closures (More) | ... and Tropicana Field, home to baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, may take weeks to assess damage done after its roof was torn off during the storm (More)

 

Science & Technology

> Apple unveils Depth Pro, an AI-powered application calculating the depth of scenes represented in two-dimensional images (More) | Previews of Apple's 14-inch MacBook Pro continue to be shared online; analysts say it marks the company's worst leak since an iPhone 4 was left at a bar in 2010 prior to consumer release (More)

> Engineers develop the world's most powerful electron "gun," capable of accelerating the particles from rest to 80% the speed of light; beam system will help investigate the physics of individual atoms (More

> Solar storm reaches Earth, causes aurora borealis along parts of the US West Coast; radiation burst from the sun triggered the second-ever warning from the National Weather Service (More) | Solar storms 101 (More)

In partnership with Med-X

Natural Is Heading to the Nasdaq

Natural solutions are already better for the environment. But Med-X is taking it a step further: their natural pesticides in some cases outperform chemical alternatives. 

 

That’s led to 200% revenue growth as they scale in their $17B market. Now they’re planning to list on the Nasdaq (ticker MXRX). But you don’t have to wait to invest. 

 

Become an early Med-X shareholder ahead of their planned Nasdaq listing.*

 
 

Business & Markets

> TD Bank agrees to pay $3B in penalties, faces limits on US growth in settlement with US regulators over bank's failure to monitor drug cartel money laundering; TD Bank shares close down 5% on news of largest-ever penalty imposed by the US on a bank for antimoney laundering violations (More

> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.2%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq -0.0%) following latest US inflation and jobless claims data (More

> US average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rises to 6.3%, up from 6.1% in the previous week (More)

 

Politics & World Affairs

> At least 12 people dead, over 3 million without power after Hurricane Milton lands as Category 3 storm in Siesta Key, Florida, about 70 miles south of Tampa; storm dumped up to 18 inches of rain in some areas and spawned at least 150 tornadoes but fell short of worst-case scenario predictions (More) | See photos (More

> Ethel Kennedy, social activist and widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D), who was assassinated in 1968, dies at age 96 after being hospitalized following a stroke in her sleep Oct. 3; Ethel never remarried and raised 11 children (More

> More than 20 people killed, over 100 wounded in Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut, marking the third time Israel has targeted Lebanon's capital since beginning its recent offensive against Hezbollah (More) | See war updates (More)

 

In-Depth

> The Thing in the White House

Southern Gothic | Brandon Schexnayder. Over the course of a year in 1910-11, during the administration of President William Taft, a ghost was said to haunt the hallways of the nation's first residence. (Listen)

 

> The Universal Wicked Witch

Aeon | Gregory Forth. Across centuries and cultures, the belief in a malevolent force wishing evil upon others from afar has persisted as a puzzle for anthropologists. (Read)

> Debating Coal's Rise in Industrial Britain

Age of Invention | Anton Howes. Deforestation is often cited as the major reason coal overtook woodfuel in industrializing Britain. This historian argues wood was abundant—it just couldn't compete with coal's persistent cheapness. (Read)

 

> 21st Century Trade Corridors

Looking 4 | Staff. The Suez and Panama canals have long held primacy among intercontinental trade routes—but new initiatives in Thailand, Iraq, and India are set to disrupt the status quo. (Watch)

In partnership with LMNT

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Etcetera
 

Kate Middleton's first public engagement since cancer diagnosis. (w/photo)

 

How the stock market eerily predicts the presidential election.

 

UK weather discourages tadpoles from evolving into frogs

 

Study finds today's workout could improve next week's mood.

 

See the world's longest continuous dinosaur tracks. (w/video)

 

What's the difference between a graveyard and a cemetery?

 

Woman outnumbered in her home by 100 raccoons.

 

Airheads unveils cherry-scented foot spray.

 

Clickbait: Say "Hy" to the US' top-ranked grocery store.

 

Historybook: Earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, kills 230,000 people (1138); Eleanor Roosevelt born (1884); "Saturday Night Live" premieres (1975); Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes first American woman to perform a spacewalk (1984); ... and Alexei Leonov, first person to ever perform a spacewalk, dies (2019).

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*Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Med-X’s Regulation CF Offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.medx-rx.com/

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