Dear valued client,
Happy Remembrance Day! 🌺
The October CPI (inflation report) for the U.S. was released Thursday morning. It came in at 7.7%, down from 8.2% in September. Markets responded in kind and the NASDAQ (index for tech stocks) jumped 7.35% on Thursday alone. Elevated interest rates are having their desired effect – though there is still a way to go before reaching the intended 2-4% inflation range.
The U.S. midterm elections took place on Tuesday. The Republican “red wave” was not as auspicious as predicted. Democrats will lose the House of Representatives by a relatively large margin. However, the fate of the Senate is still not decided; results from Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada are still too close to call. Regardless, this shift in congressional authority will make it more cumbersome for the White House to push through policies in their remaining two years in office.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated publicly this week he is open to peace talks with Russia. Here are the conditions he’s put forth for peace negotiations: (1) the return of occupied Ukrainian territory, (2) the prosecution of Russian war crimes, and (3) compensation for damages caused by the war.
I doubt Putin will accept these conditions, but at least it’s a starting point.
I listened to a podcast this week with Stephen Kotkin, (in my opinion) the foremost leader in authoritarian history. This is what he had to say on peace between Russia and Ukraine:
“What does victory look like? Victory is inclusion in the West. Inclusion in the EU in the first instance, followed by NATO. It’s not territorial necessarily, it’s not necessarily reparations, it’s that Ukraine is a legally entered member of the European Union and has some type of security guarantee. This version of victory does not necessarily require Russia being evicted from every piece of Ukrainian soil, but it’s not the definition of victory anybody is talking about.”
Hopefully, this war ends as quickly and peacefully as possible.
Have a terrific weekend,
PW
