News for July 12 — Alcoholic Liver Disease Death Rates Rise

Alcoholic liver disease death rates rise: https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/excessive-drinking-during-the-pandemic-increased-alcoholic-liver-disease-death-rates/ . The pandemic increased heavy drinking, which in turn accelerated the deaths of those who already had liver disease.

Suit to block Iowa abortion ban: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/reproductive-rights-groups-file-suit-stop-iowas-6-week-abortion-ban-rcna93896 .

Core inflation remains sticky: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/june-cpi-inflation-data-july-13-2023-123148137.html . Everyone would like inflation to return to 2% annually. However, the problem is that core inflation, which is the measure most closely watched by the Fed, is not behaving. That is because, as we’ve said so often, inflation is sticky. At 4.8%, core is a long way from 2%. We are still on track for another 25 basis point increase later this month, and a further 25 basis points over the following two Fed meetings. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/consumer-price-index-report-june-inflation-ede7f4b1 .

Foreign investors bypass China: https://www.wsj.com/articles/xi-china-economy-capital-investment-3439d31a . It is hard to see how foreign investment is a threat to China: https://www.wsj.com/articles/xi-china-economy-capital-investment-3439d31a .

WSJ: NATO’s support for Ukraine remains short of a timeline for admission: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-reluctance-to-letting-ukraine-join-nato-tests-alliances-unity-4c850273 . Again, any timeline that starts after Ukraine wins the war is not really a timeline. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-nato-summit-membership-fb0d863a .

Ukraine missile kills Russian general 100 miles behind front lines: https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-took-senior-russian-general-112605652.html . This is a terrifying result for the Russian senior command.

WSJ: London’s Canary Wharf suffers from remote work: https://www.wsj.com/articles/londons-canary-wharf-takes-brunt-of-real-estate-pain-d1e98eb4 . I’ve stayed in this area several times over the past 30 years. But apparently this mini financial center is now losing out to newer developments around London.

GOP leadership tries to address the Tuberville problem: https://news.yahoo.com/tommy-tuberville-senate-white-nationalism-military-promotions-abortions-143426548.html . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tommy-tuberville-goes-on-defense-over-hold-on-military-promotions-racial-comments-235c8ed2 .

Marjorie Taylor Greene officially booted from Freedom Caucus: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/marjorie-taylor-greene-officially-kicked-freedom-caucus-gop-lawmaker-s-rcna93962 .

Fox News downgraded as analyst sees weakness ahead: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fox-stock-downgraded-on-cord-cutting-risks-as-viewership-declines-post-tucker-carlson-164636081.html . So, it seems unlikely that the new Fox line-up will halt the viewership slide. Also, with Dominion Voting paid off, Fox still faces an even larger claim from Smartmatic: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/04/fox-smartmatic-lawsuit . However, at some point, Fox viewers will get the message that Fox consistently does not tell the truth, which is the basis of their business model. While many won’t care, the country will slowly get past Nut World.

Musk creates AI start-up, xAI: https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-xai-artificial-intelligence-company-openai-chatgpt-4a6f178a .

Harvard dishonesty expert’s dishonesty: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/harvard-business-school-withdrawing-papers-095328886.html .