This week’s list branches out from economics and investing to cover some interesting headlines about companies, celebrities, environmental moves and a strike for the digital age.

Economics

• These days, Bank CEOs and some corporations are warning of recession risks (Reuters), while officials like Secretary Yellen are still seeing a path to a soft landing (Yahoo Finance).
• The Fed is getting mixed signals from the data that drives their policy decisions ahead of next week’s FOMC. (Reuters)
• Today’s PPI sends another mixed message with month to month increases higher than expected, but year over year figures showing signs of some improvement. News sent stock futures down. (CNBC)
• Here is a great map from Visual Capitalist showing inflation rates around the world.  It certainly puts US inflation in perspective.

Investing

• Ben Carlson collects and comments on an interesting array of investment and economic charts in last week’s A Wealth of Common Sense.

Corporate News

• For those of you following the future of “Call of Duty,” Microsoft bids $69 Billion deal with Activision Blizzard to bring the game to the Nintendo platform. This would be the largest deal in the gaming industry (Yahoo), but the FTC is trying to stop the deal (Reuters).
• Disney+ is the latest of several steaming services to offer a cheaper version with ads. (Reuters)

Labor Markets

• Did you refrain from playing Wordle yesterday in digital solidarity with NYT employees’ 24-hour strike? The situation at the NYT is representative of labor markets in a time of high inflation, low unemployment, and strong corporate profits. (WAPO)
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Environmental News

• France is making moves to limit carbon emissions. The first is to ban short haul airplane flights on routes with adequate train service (Politico Europe), and Paris’s ban on private vehicles downtown is now slated for 2024. (The Verge) (Bikes seems to work in Amsterdam, why not Paris?)
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Celebrity News

• Elon Musk lost the “richest man in the world” title, at least for a while, as Tesla shares tanked. (Reuters)
• SBF (Sam Bankman Fried) has agreed to testify before Congress on December 13. (The Hill)
• Yankees, love them or hate them, signed Aaron Judge to 9-year, $360 million contract! (AP News)

About the Author

Beth Tallman

Beth Tallman entered the working world armed with an MBA in finance and thoroughly enjoyed her first career working in manufacturing and telecommunications, including a stint overseas. She took advantage of an involuntary separation to try teaching high school math, something she had always dreamed of doing. When fate stepped in once again, Beth jumped on the opportunity to combine her passion for numbers, money, and education to develop curriculum and teach personal finance at Oberlin College. Beth now spends her time writing on personal finance and financial education, conducts student workshops, and develops finance curricula and educational content. She is also the Treasurer of Ohio Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.

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