Wall Street already put its money on another interest rate cut this year, maybe even a big one. It’s a gambit that’s looking less certain though. Three Federal Reserve policy makers said they don’t think the U.S. economy needs lower interest rates, pushing back against a White House scrambling for ways to stave off a recession many see coming. Whether this growing sense of caution presages a smaller cut, or none at all, is a question that won’t be answered until next month. —David E. Rovella Here are today’s top storiesThe skeptical folks at the Fed may be onto something. A recession isn’t anywhere near a sure thing, despite the inverted yield curve and its status as the fifth horseman of the apocalypse. Indeed, Peter Coy writes in Bloomberg Businessweek that it’s not the powerful augur it once was. Senator Bernie Sanders proposed a Green New Deal on steroids, a $16.3 trillion framework for transforming America into a country that runs on renewable energy rather than planet-killing fossil fuel. It would require the government to build and run a massive new energy network. Brazil’s anti-environmentalist President Jair Bolsonaro has bragged how he will accelerate deforestation of the Amazon. Now that huge swaths of it are burning and global condemnation is raining down on him, the right wing leader’s government is doubling down, blaming the media and attempting damage control—all at the same time. Hong Kong’s democracy movement is flourishing online, and China can’t do anything about it. Foreign oil companies are fleeing Canada thanks to persistent pipeline delays, among other things. Divestitures are up to $30 billion. Apple has some new hardware, such as its “Pro” iPhones, iPad upgrades and its largest laptop in years. What’s Lorcan Roche Kelly thinking? The Bloomberg cross-asset reporter observes that on one side of the Atlantic we have the big shots of global monetary policy meeting at Jackson Hole. On the other side we have holders of the fiscal levers gathering at the G-7 in France. His prediction? Both will look to the other to solve the world’s problems. What you’ll need to know tomorrow What you’ll want to read tonight in BusinessweekWhen Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released their engagement photos to the public in 2017, the future Duchess of Sussex’s long-sleeved gown with a sheer top and tulle skirt sparked an instant controversy. It was modern, glamorous, and, at $68,112, incredibly expensive. But to the lowprofile fashion house Ralph & Russo, it was a royal coup. Like Bloomberg’s Evening Briefing? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com. You’ll get our unmatched global news coverage and two premium daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close, and much, much more. See our limited-time introductory offer. The best in-depth reporting from Asia Pacific and beyond, delivered to your inbox every Friday. Sign up here for The Reading List, a new weekly email coming soon. Download the Bloomberg app: It’s available for iOS and Android. |