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The Friday File: While autonomous AI agents like Meta’s recently released Muse are interesting, I am especially looking forward to an AI agent (Cash Concierge?) that focuses on getting me the highest rate of return on my personal/business cash balances.…

In 2015, the share of car loans that had a term of 72+ months was 15%. By Covid’s arrival the percentage was 20%. By 2022 it had risen to 25%, where the rate stayed through 2025. However, it’s again rising…

US equity market performance is increasingly being led by the Magnificent Seven including the hyperscalers (Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft) plus Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla. They closed yesterday with a combined market cap of almost $25 trillion, 77% of US…

Recently revised data showed 26Q1 annualized U.S. GDP growth at 2.5%, up from 2.1%, and 26Q2 at 2.2%, up from 1.5%. These upward revisions to consumer spending and investment, which includes construction, emphasize how critical the AI buildout has been.…

September net job growth was 29,000, while July/August was collectively revised down 60,000. Since 1/25, average job growth/month has been 34,667, making this month’s number more evidence of the new normal. With the current immigration policies, there’s no reason to…

The Friday File: In 2025, the most-visited national park in North America was Great Smoky Mountains with 11.5 million visitors. The park charges no entrance fee but charges for parking, and it’s within a day’s drive of half of all…

After falling to a five-year low following President Trump’s 4/25 “liberation day” tariffs, CEOs of America’s largest companies are signaling confidence, a stark contrast with the gloom felt by consumers. CEO confidence is up for five straight quarters, is well…

Numerous surveys of inflation expectations of consumers and investors do not show them being worried that the Fed will lose control over inflation. Thus, the breakeven inflation rate, the bond market’s indicator of expected inflation, remains modest. However, investors seem…

The terms/timing of the Paramount settlement with state AGs was the product of shrewd Paramount contract writing. By imposing a staggeringly costly, ticking delay fee on themselves payable to Warner Brothers should the merger be delayed, and then a (clearly…

Every barrel of crude results in gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. If you can’t export diesel, of which we produce a surplus, once storage fills refiners will reduce production, driving up the cost of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel everywhere.…