Bit of personal and professional news: I recently moved from DC to Los Angeles, where I'll be covering the California (and West Coast, and still U.S.) economy for
@WSJ.
My first story:
https://t.co/NhQ7ZTPmGX
Scoop: Blockchain researchers have found evidence of rampant wash trading on the leading electoral betting site Polymarket, with Chaos Labs concluding that one-third of volume on its presidential market is likely artificial
Our latest poll shows that 5% of all voters (all voters!) consider themselves single-issue crypto voters, putting to rest ongoing questions about whether the crypto industry has astroturfed its power this election cycle. 1/7
“There’s strong reason to believe they are the same entity.” @aosipovich shows how four accounts on a betting website poured $30 million of crypto into wagers that Trump will win the election, making his odds look better than they might really be. https://t.co/dFIL2WIjuk
US Forest Service sent urgent message to federal agencies in western N.C. on Saturday saying that National Guard troops ‘had come across x2 trucks of armed militia saying they were out hunting FEMA.’
https://t.co/PkgrlMgnOO
Two thirds of economists surveyed by the @WSJ say inflation would be worse under Trump than under Harris while just 12% say it would be worse under Harris than Trump. @pkwsj @anthonydb https://t.co/4liUrRzKmN
Interesting bc before it was an election year with tens of millions of crypto-dollars sloshing around Washington, Tim Scott was fairly skeptical of The Digital Asset Ecosystem.
Scoop from @Eleanor_Mueller: Mark Warner is dropping plans to include new crypto sanctions in a bill that would reauthorize intel programs. He faced opposition from the crypto industry and a key GOP senator. https://t.co/F3drR5s2pH
If you are a weatherperson, you’re a target. The same goes for journalists, election workers, scientists, doctors, and first responders. These jobs are different, but the thing they share is that they all must attend to and describe the world as it is. https://t.co/yEkCouSFfB
Sharply lower energy prices have brought overall inflation to its lowest level since February 2021. But energy is volatile. If we want sustained lower inflation, services inflation (shelter, transportation, healthcare) has to come down.
September inflation data comes in a bit warmer than expected:
-CPI +2.4% yoy, vs consensus estimate of +2.3%
-CPI excluding food and energy +3.3%, vs consensus +3.2%
Strong September jobs report just in:
+254k nonfarm payrolls (economists had expected +150k)
Unemployment rate falls to 4.1% from 4.2%
Average hourly earnings +$0.13 to $35.36
Kamala Harris’ brother-in-law Tony West has earned $40.6 million in compensation from Uber, where he is a senior executive, since 2020. West is on leave from Uber to advise the Harris campaign but has told colleagues he plans to return afterward. https://t.co/9TXCLau65w
Hurricane Helene caused havoc in North Carolina.
It also shut two mines that together produce about four-fifths of the world’s highest-quality quartz — a crucial ingredient in the production of semiconductors https://t.co/ZSFlpvZHFV