💤✈️ Biden To Fly Home Early As Debt Negotiations Loom

GM and BRRR.

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Nervous about the debt ceiling negotiations, Joe Biden’s White House has shortened his planned trip to Asia this week. The president will now only visit Japan to meet with a handful of leaders to discuss the path forward with Russia and China, canceling stops in Australia and Papau New Guinea.

Nervous traders celebrated the news, with stocks walking higher in early trading.

Other nuggets covered today surround Microsoft CEO’s press tour, speaking to Time Magazine, and CNBC in recent days. Microsoft appears incredibly well-positioned for the AI boom given their software dominance, moat, and heavy investment in ChatGPT creator OpenAI.

Interestingly, Nadella remains cautious and fearful of the technology, claiming that all of humanity needs to coordinate in order to prevent malfeasance. A scary thought - as humanity can’t broadly coordinate on anything.
 
Here’s what we brrr’d today:

• Wednesday Market Update: Indexes Walk Higher As Biden Flies Home Early

• Microsoft CEO: Turning AI from Competitor to Colleague

Wednesday Market Update: Indexes Walk Higher As Biden Flies Home Early

• US Stock Futures Rise as Debt Ceiling Talks Continue: S&P 500 futures up 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.2%. Investors focused on debt ceiling negotiations while awaiting a framework agreement for Biden and McCarthy to review upon the president's early return from Asia. The markets and McCarthy remain optimistic for a swift resolution.

• Western Alliance Bancorp Reports Growth: Western Alliance Bancorp's stock jumps as much as 9.8% in premarket trading. The regional lender reported growth in deposits, alleviating concerns surrounding the US regional banking sector. Quarterly deposit growth exceeds $2 billion, and insured deposits make up nearly 80% of the total.

• Tesla Advertising: Tesla's stock rises as much as 1.7% in premarket trading. CEO Elon Musk announces the electric-car maker's intention to try traditional advertising methods, a significant shift in marketing strategy. The company aims to assess the impact of advertising on vehicle sales and expand its customer reach.

• Asian Stocks Retreat on China's Weak Data: Asian stocks decline as China's economic growth outlook weighs on sentiment. MSCI Asia Pacific Index falls 0.5%, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declining 2.1% due to disappointing factory output and jobless data. Japan's Nikkei 225 outperforms, closing above 30,000 for the first time since September 2021, supported by better-than-expected GDP report.
  ZeroHedge

Microsoft CEO: Turning AI from Competitor to Colleague

• A Catalyst for Transformation: Microsoft CEO Nadella believes AI will revolutionize the workplace by removing drudgery and enhancing productivity. AI will shift from being on autopilot to a supportive copilot, empowering humans and enabling them to focus more on creativity and expression.

• Democratizing Access: Microsoft acknowledges concerns about job displacement due to AI and takes responsibility for addressing them. With access to new skills, the company aims to create more jobs, increasing the number of professional developers worldwide.

• Striking a Balance: Nadella notes the importance of responsible AI governance and the need for both dialogue and regulation. Nadella highlights the ongoing work in de-biasing models and putting humans at the center of AI design choices.

• Disruption and Job Creation: Recognizing the potential for job displacement when disruptive technologies like AI emerge, Nadella believes AI will also create new job opportunities, envisioning a world with a billion developers. AI is a democratizing tool that simplifies access to new technology and knowledge, facilitating learning curve acceleration.

  TIME and CNBC

AI ART OF THE DAY

The BRRR’s Portfolio

NVDA and MSFT continue their surge as investors pile into perceived AI winners

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