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DID YOU KNOW
Last Wednesday, the Fed held its key interest rate steady for the 3rd straight time and set the table for multiple cuts to come in 2024 and beyond, keeping the benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a targeted range between 5.25%-5.5%. Members penciled in at least 3 rate cuts in 2024, after 11 hikes since 2022, assuming quarter percentage point increments, less than market pricing of four, but more aggressive than what officials had previously indicated. (CNBC)
“In light of the faster return to target, we now expect the Federal Open Market Committee to cut earlier and faster,”
– Goldman Sachs thinks rates will drop sooner in 2024
than most expect ......March, May and June?
DID YOU KNOW
Ken Griffin is in contract to purchase air rights - for around $312/sf - from above St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan to build a giant 1.7 million square foot skyscraper that will house Citadel on Park Avenue.
DID YOU KNOW
Around 52% of global prime homebuyers are now paying in cash, up from 46% six months ago. (Bloomberg)
DID YOU KNOW
The Miami metro area has the highest share of cost-burdened renters of any major U.S. metropolitan area: 61% of its rental population are spending 30% or more of household income on housing, according to a report released this year by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. The Live Local Act is helping build thousands of lower priced rentals for local workers via big tax breaks for developers and the ability to skirt existing zoning laws. Doral County enacted a 6-month moratorium on any Live Local Act developments as some neighbors worry about the impact to their neighborhoods. (WSJ)
DID YOU KNOW
Vienna, Zurich or Auckland, ranked the top spots for best places for Expats to live. Vienna retained its place at the top of the list, which was last published in the pre-pandemic days of 2019. The survey’s compilers highlighted the city’s vibrant cultural scene, architecture and history. Zurich, in second spot, was hailed for its political stability and high-quality infrastructure, while on the other side of the world, Auckland was praised for its high standard of healthcare and cultural dynamism. (Mercer’s 2023 Quality of Living survey for expatriates.)
DID YOU KNOW
The Blue Zones are the five regions in the world where people live the longest. As of 2020, the US was ranked 61st out of 237 nations in terms of life expectancy. California - home of Loma Linda, the US’ only official Blue Zone - was found by recent research to be the state most likely to produce more healthy and happy neighborhoods, scoring particularly high with the number of adults getting at least 7 hours of sleep and low with the number of physically inactive people. Its overall rating was 7.03 out of 10. Minnesota was 2nd, Utah 3rd, North Carolina 4th, Massachusetts 5th, Maryland 6th, Virginia 7th, Connecticut 8th, Rhode Island 9th, and Colorado 10th. (NY POST)
“Companies are maintaining or even expanding margins because they are not passing these cost cuts onto consumers. The margins are obscene.”
–Albert Edwards, a strategist at Société Générale. (NY TIMES)
Pantone, best known for its Pantone Matching System, chose PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz as its 2024 Color of the Year, describing the color as a "velvety gentle peach whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body and soul,"……Ohhhh Lalalala....take that CHAT GPT!
DID YOU KNOW
NASA is developing a super sonic jet that flys from New York to London in 2 hours… Say whaaaaattt…. The X-59, aiming to fly faster than the Concorde while reducing sonic booms to a 'sonic thump.' ⚡️😮 Potential passenger markets include about fifty established inter-city routes, with flights like New York City to London up to four times faster. The X-59, currently in a California hangar, will be painted before final measurements, as part of NASA's Quesst mission to gather data about people's perceptions of its sound. The data could influence regulations on commercial supersonic flight over land. The X-59 is a centerpiece of NASA's low boom flight demonstrator project.
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