Pics du jour

🏦 The Fed got the scissors out again. Fed officials voted unanimously to cut rates by a quarter-point yesterday; the move follows a half-point cut in September. The benchmark rate now sits between 4.5%–4.75%. In a post-meeting press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the US presidential election will have “no effects” on the central bank’s policy decisions in the near-term, and that he wouldn’t resign if asked by President-elect Trump. Markets are pricing in a 57% chance the benchmark rate will be 3.5%–4.0% in October 2025 (as of 9 pm ET yesterday).

🚘🔌 Michigan streetlights are turning into EV chargers. AT&T is partnering with startup Voltpost to install the latter’s chargers, which can be affixed to almost any existing public or privately owned lamppost, on streetlights across Michigan, with a focus on Metro Detroit. AT&T will provide internet connectivity for the chargers, so the operator knows immediately if one goes offline and needs repair. The project is yet another example that Motown innovation is back (in addition to the Lions’ trick plays): the state last November launched the first US roadway that charges EVs as they drive.

🤧💊 Many US cold and allergy meds could soon have new ingredients. The FDA proposed ending the use of oral phenylephrine, a common ingredient in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medications, because an extensive review of available data found it doesn’t actually relieve nasal congestion. Since coming to market in the 1990s, it was thought to relieve congestion by reducing blood vessel swelling in nasal passages. But last year, an FDA advisory panel found the ingredient, while safe, is ineffective when administered orally. The medicines generated ~$1.8 billion in sales for CVS and Walgreens in 2022.