August 15 2024

FLASH Columbia President Resigns After Months of Turmoil on Campus
1 US Inflation Falls to 2.9% in July, But Rising Housing Costs Remain a Major Concern
2 UK Government’s Ambitious New Plan to Tackle Housing Crisis
3 Palmer Luckey: From VR Pioneer to Defense Tech Mogul in "American Vulcan" Profile
4 Mars Acquires Pringles Maker Kellanova for $35.9 Billion
5 China and Russia Strengthen Military Alliance with Joint War Games
8/15/21 Kabul falls to the Taliban after U.S. withdrawal

See the new Ad Astra Podcast! Released on Apple and Spotify around 8a CST.

FLASH Columbia President Resigns After Months of Turmoil on Campus

1 US Inflation Falls to 2.9% in July, But Rising Housing Costs Remain a Major Concern

US inflation fell to 2.9 per cent in July, bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September. The annual rise in the consumer price index was just 0.1 percentage points below June’s rate and undercut economists’ expectations that the figure would hold steady at 3 per cent. It also marked the first time headline CPI has fallen below 3 per cent since March 2021.

Increases in housing-related expenses accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the 0.2 per cent monthly increase for CPI, according to the BLS. That also helped to push up services inflation to 0.3 per cent for the month.

Ed note: housing costs once again played a pivotal role in driving inflation. Government figures, which include rent and owners' equivalent rent, are based on surveys and often lag behind real-time data. In contrast, private indicators such as Zillow’s rent index, which tracks new listings and lease signings, suggest that rent growth may be stabilizing or even declining. The divergence between these data sources highlights the timeliness of private sector metrics versus the more comprehensive but delayed government figures. Both are critical for understanding inflation trends, with government data reflecting broader market conditions and private data offering early signs of shifts in the housing market. Housing costs remain one of the largest contributors to inflation and a significant barrier to affordability in America. Political parties should take note and propose strategies to reduce these costs.

Article Source: FT

2 UK Government’s Ambitious New Plan to Tackle Housing Crisis

On a baking hot afternoon in July, Firouz Thompson proudly drove down the freshly paved road that leads into Northstowe, a new town about six miles northwest of Cambridge, England. “This is where the new town center will be,” said Ms. Thompson, a Northstowe resident, as she pointed to an empty patch of land that will eventually include a market hall, convenience store, library and health center. Nearby there is already a high school and an all-ages special needs school. Soon, a preschool will open. By 2040, this former World War II airfield will be transformed into a thriving town with 10,000 homes and about 25,000 residents. Or, at least, the British government, regional officials and residents hope so. Today, Northstowe has just 1,450 homes in a mixture of low apartment blocks and single-family houses, surrounded by fields, construction sites and newly planted trees that offer no respite from the heat. Nearly a decade after its groundbreaking, Northstowe has become an example of the sluggish pace at which Britain is chipping away at its housing crisis. “The U.K. has had a worse housing crisis than most of its peer countries, for a longer period that most of its peer countries, whether in Europe or North America,” said Anthony Breach, a researcher at Centre for Cities, an urban policy think tank. Britain went from having one of the best housing stocks in Europe after World War II to falling behind, he added. To address the growing need for homes, the country’s governing Labour Party has vowed to “unleash” development and build 1.5 million homes over the next five years, a pace of house building last seen in the 1960s. Part of Labour’s strategy is to build new towns by expanding small communities or establishing settlements, reviving an idea from the 1940s.

Article Source: NYT

3 Palmer Luckey: From VR Pioneer to Defense Tech Mogul in "American Vulcan" Profile

Tablet Magazine published the lengthy article "American Vulcan”, which delves into the incredible life and career of Palmer Luckey, 31, founder of Oculus and Anduril Industries. It explores his transition from a virtual reality pioneer to a key figure in defense technology, focusing on his innovations in AI-driven military tools. The piece also examines his controversial political views and how they influence his work.

Luckey has built a defense technology empire with Anduril Industries, creating autonomous weapons and AI-powered sensors. Known for his eccentric personality and political views, Luckey's journeyed from a VR pioneer to a leading figure in defense technology. Despite past controversies, including his firing from Facebook over political donations, Luckey continues to push technological boundaries, embodying a unique blend of tech innovation and provocative ideology.

Story

Article Source: Tablet

4 Mars Acquires Pringles Maker Kellanova for $35.9 Billion

Mars, the confectionery, food and petcare giant, has reached an agreement to acquire Pringles and Pop-Tarts maker Kellanova for a total consideration of $35.9bn, marking one of the largest deals of the year.

The price Mars is offering is unusually high in the consumer sector, especially for a company making products that have fallen out of favour with health-conscious customers. The deal comes as consumers have recently curtailed spending following years of inflation that pushed prices for many staples as much as a third above pre-pandemic levels. However, Kellanova has managed to navigate the consumer slowdown, and it recently raised its full-year sales forecasts after exceeding expectations with its latest earnings. Poul Weihrauch, Mars chief executive, said acquiring Kellanova would bring categories including salty snacks, crackers and cereals into his company’s portfolio. Kellanova also has a strong presence in regions including Africa and Latin America, expanding Mars’s reach.

Article Source: FT

5 China and Russia Strengthen Military Alliance with Joint War Games

China and Russia have pressed an informal political and economic alliance against the West. Now they are stepping up the cooperation between their militaries with increasingly provocative joint war games. Chinese and Russian long-range bombers patrolled together near Alaska for the first time last month. Days earlier, the countries held live-fire naval drills in the hotly contested South China Sea for the first time in eight years. And they have more frequently buzzed the skies and sailed the waters together near Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, where America has strategic interests. The military exercises are, in some ways, the most vivid expression of an alignment between China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as they have sought to challenge their chief geopolitical rival, the United States. China has been frustrated by American trade restrictions and Washington’s building of security alliances in Asia. It has pushed back by trying to court European countries with trade and building its influence among poorer countries with investments.

To Washington, the exercises sow doubts about whether the United States could prevail in a war in Asia against the combined forces of China and Russia. While American war planners have long considered scenarios with China and Russia individually, they have paid less attention to the prospect of the two nuclear-armed states fighting together because it had long seemed so unlikely. The joint Chinese and Russian bomber patrol near Alaska last month underscored the threat. By taking off from a Russian air base, nuclear-capable Chinese bombers were able to fly about 200 miles from the Alaskan coast, a distance that would have been unreachable taking off from China.

Article Source: NYT

8/15/21 Kabul falls to the Taliban after U.S. withdrawal

Sources

2. https://on.ft.com/4crrCWU

3. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/15/business/uk-housing-crisis-new-towns.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

4. https://www.tabletmag.com/feature/american-vulcan-palmer-luckey-anduril

5. https://on.ft.com/3X3VjsA

6. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/13/world/asia/china-russia-military-patrols.html