There is more evidence every passing day that the U.S. is undergoing a secular change towards higher average interest rates. For almost fifteen years investors, business leaders, governments, and consumers have become accustomed to historically low costs of borrowing. The unusually low cost of money over this period has propelled…

US consumers are tightening their purchases, Amazon and Starbucks executives said Tuesday.Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said their customers were trading down and looking for deals.Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan said the coffee chain’s customers were growing more cautious. US consumers are becoming more prudent with their spending, executives at Amazon and…

POLITICS

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Democratic state Sen. Tim Kennedy will win the special election for New York’s 26th Congressional District, CNN projects, further narrowing – at least in the short term – Republicans’ paper-thin majority in the US House. Kennedy will succeed fellow Democrat Brian Higgins in the Buffalo-based district after his victory Tuesday over Republican nominee Gary Dickson, the West Seneca town supervisor. After Kennedy is sworn in on Capitol Hill, the GOP majority in the House will shrink to just 217-213, meaning Speaker Mike Johnson will only be able to spare one Republican on a party-line vote. However, a trio of special elections…

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Investing

The Biden administration moved Tuesday to reclassify marijuana as a lower-risk substance, a person familiar with the plans told CNN, a historic move that acknowledges the medical benefits of the long-criminalized drug and carries broad implications for cannabis-related research and the industry at large. The US Department of Justice recommended…