Have a nice weekend
Indications
Nickel 3 month $7.04
Cash Last $6.96
Euro 1.118
Yen 157.11
gold $3965.59
silver $50.13
Copper LME $6.53
Copper Comex $6.466
Cobalt $ 23.00- 26.00
Zinc $ 1.80
Tin $ 22.09
Crude $104.02 up 1.20%
Dow Jones down .25%
FTSE 100 up .12%
Dax up .77%
Hang Seng 1.46%
Nikkei down down 2.12%
U.S. Dollar index 101.69
Quote of the Day
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.— Corrie Ten Boom Just like a college student who finally started going to office hours, the US economy just got its best report card of the year. The GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.4% in Q3, thanks to booming business investment and resilient consumer spending despite rising inflation, according to government data released yesterday. The economic expansion was bigger than analysts expected, representing a sharp acceleration from the 2.5% and 2.2% growth in the preceding two quarters: Yearly consumer spending growth reached 3.8% last quarter, the fastest pace since 2024. Business investment jumped 12.7%, accounting for over half of GDP growth. AI investment was a major GDP propellant: Equipment purchases soared by a whopping 20.9%, which included AI hyperscalers splurging on data center tech. What were the drags on GDP? Paradoxically, the AI buildout was one of them. That’s because many AI hardware purchases, like computer chips, happened overseas. That reduced economic growth by skewing the US trade balance toward imports (which are subtracted from GDP). Plus, rising mortgage rates dampened homebuilding. Not everyone feels the GDP in their wallets Though unemployment remains low, inflation outpaced income gains last month. Price growth accelerated in September on both a monthly and annual basis, per the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure. It remained well above the central bank’s 2% annual inflation target, strengthening the case for raising interest rates. In a sign that higher prices might be straining American budgets, the after-tax savings rate dipped to 3.8% last month, the lowest since 2022. And purchases like cars, furniture, and electronics stagnated. Momentum might be fragile. Many economists think that wealthier Americans, emboldened by gains in their stock portfolios (which are largely contingent on the AI boom), are sustaining consumption.—SK
Word of the Day
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Someone may be described as reticent if they are feeling or showing reluctance, that is, hesitation or unwillingness to do something. Reticentcan also describe someone who is reserved, inclined to be silent or uncommunicative about things.
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// The team was reticent to spend such a large amount of money, even for an all-star free agent.
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// He’s always been reticent about discussing personal matters at work.
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Shindig is an informal word for a big party.
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// Our friends are in town this weekend, so we’re hosting a shindig at our place on Saturday night.
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Trivia
What USA lake sends 4 million homes electric power and provides drinking water to 40 Million people
Answer: at bottom of page under good read.
News of Interest
Just like a college student who finally started going to office hours, the US economy just got its best report card of the year. The GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.4% in Q3, thanks to booming business investment and resilient consumer spending despite rising inflation, according to government data released yesterday.
The economic expansion was bigger than analysts expected, representing a sharp acceleration from the 2.5% and 2.2% growth in the preceding two quarters:
- Yearly consumer spending growth reached 3.8% last quarter, the fastest pace since 2024.
- Business investment jumped 12.7%, accounting for over half of GDP growth.
AI investment was a major GDP propellant: Equipment purchases soared by a whopping 20.9%, which included AI hyperscalers splurging on data center tech.
What were the drags on GDP? Paradoxically, the AI buildout was one of them. That’s because many AI hardware purchases, like computer chips, happened overseas. That reduced economic growth by skewing the US trade balance toward imports (which are subtracted from GDP). Plus, rising mortgage rates dampened homebuilding.
Not everyone feels the GDP in their wallets
Though unemployment remains low, inflation outpaced income gains last month. Price growth accelerated in September on both a monthly and annual basis, per the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure. It remained well above the central bank’s 2% annual inflation target, strengthening the case for raising interest rates.
In a sign that higher prices might be straining American budgets, the after-tax savings rate dipped to 3.8% last month, the lowest since 2022. And purchases like cars, furniture, and electronics stagnated.
Momentum might be fragile. Many economists think that wealthier Americans, emboldened by gains in their stock portfolios (which are largely contingent on the AI boom), are sustaining consumption.—SK
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🛒 DoorDash is buying Instacart for $17 billion. Bow to your new delivery overlords. DoorDash will acquire rival Instacart, the companies announced, uniting the US’ biggest restaurant delivery service with its biggest online grocery platform. The merger gives Instacart users access to thousands of additional stores and will combine memberships to each service into one subscription. Per NBC News, DoorDash is expected to keep Instacart’s brand and tech once the deal closes. Owning Instacart not only gives DoorDash more ammo in its duel with Uber, but it also helps the delivery giant compete with Walmart and Amazon in the increasingly competitive grocery space.
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Alaska's Sullivan Showdown |
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President Donald Trump called for Alaska Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola to be prosecuted and removed from the ballot after a New York Times report (free w/email) alleged her campaign recruited a candidate sharing the name of her opponent, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R). Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) also ordered an investigation Wednesday, days before Tuesday’s midterms. The effort reportedly began in 2025, and Peltola’s former campaign manager said she was aware of it but wasn’t directly involved. Peltola’s campaign denies involvement, as does the second Sullivan, a retired teacher who is one of four candidates in the race. State election officials initially disqualified him over concerns about voter confusion, but the Alaska Supreme Court reinstated his candidacy. The Justice Department sued last week to block certification of a Peltola victory if confusion over the second Sullivan affected the outcome. In a Sullivan twist, Anchorage's former mayor—a third Dan Sullivan—endorsed the incumbent in August. Why are there so many Dan Sullivans in Alaska? |
US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq -1.4%); Google parent company Alphabet shares drop 12.3% following third-quarter earnings report that fell short of analysts' expectations (
Nickel & Related Metal News
Good Read
Answer to today's trivia question: Lake Powell