Day: 26 July 2024

Posted on

U.S. rate cut looking more likely as Fed key inflation measure rose 2.5% in June 2024 over the year

U.S. Inflation

The personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) increased 0.1% in June 2024 and was up 2.5% from a year ago, with the annual rate showing a slight decline from the prior month

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, showed a monthly increase of 0.2% and 2.6% on the year, both also in line with expectations.

Personal income rose just 0.2%, below the 0.4% estimate. Spending increased 0.3%, meeting the forecast, while the personal savings rate decreased to 3.4%.

This PCE reading may encourage the Fed to cut rates now.

Posted on

OpenAI announces a search engine called SearchGPT

A new powerful search engine

OpenAI on Thursday 25th July 2024 announced a prototype of its search engine, called SearchGPT, which aims to give users “fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.”

The company has announced plans to eventually incorporate the tool, presently in testing with a select user group, into its ChatGPT chatbot.

The introduction of ChatGPT could have significant implications for Google’s search engine dominance. Since ChatGPT’s debut in November 2022, there has been growing concern among Alphabet’s investors that OpenAI may capture a portion of Google’s market share by offering consumers innovative methods to obtain information on the internet.

Alphabet three month share price as of 25th July 2024

Alphabet three month share price as of 25th July 2024

OpenAI’s ChatGPT was incorporated into Microsoft’s search engine Bing as Copilot and the companies have kept market dominance with this shrewd AI move. Google, on the other hand, has struggled to keep up in the AI race and may now be suffering the effects.

This announcement could have implications for Microsoft’s Copilot as well.

Posted on

U.S. economy grew by 2.8% in Q2 – better than expected

U.S. economy

In the second quarter of 2024, the U.S. economy expanded at a strong annual rate of 2.8%, exceeding economists’ forecasts.

This surge was fueled by positive consumer spending, substantial government expenditures, and increased inventories.

The personal consumption expenditures price index saw a 2.6% rise in the same timeframe, a decrease from the prior quarter’s 3.4% climb as core prices, which exclude food and energy, increased by 2.9%.

The data suggests a continued deceleration in the personal savings rate, standing at 3.5% for the quarter, down from 3.8% in the first quarter.