🐂 Perked up

Markets

Yesterday, the stock market slightly increased, concluding October positively. However, this upward movement didn't prevent the Dow and S&P 500 from marking their initial three-month decline since 2020. Attention has now turned back to the Federal Reserve, anticipated to maintain current interest rates at its meeting scheduled for today.

Are More Interest-Rate Hikes Needed? What to Expect From Fed Meeting

The Federal Reserve is expected to maintain its current benchmark interest rate, which stands at a 22-year peak, during its upcoming meeting, leaving room for the potential of further rate hikes to combat inflation.

Following the conclusion of the two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, officials might consider increasing rates again either in December or in the upcoming year if the economy maintains its current pace without cooling down as expected and if inflation accelerates again after a slowdown since June.

Furthermore, they will likely assess whether the recent rapid increase in Treasury yields could act as a viable substitute for another rate hike.

The central bank will unveil its policy statement on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time, followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Q&A session with reporters at 2:30 p.m. Here are the key points to focus on:

Patience in decision-making, but with a question of timing:

The anticipated decision by the Fed would mark the second consecutive meeting without a rate increase, emphasizing its cautious approach in the battle against inflation. Since March 2022, officials have implemented rate hikes at the swiftest pace seen in four decades. The most recent rise in July pushed the benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 5.25% and 5.5%.

Education

Homeschooling is booming

A significantly high number of American parents view traditional educational institutions—public, private, or charter schools—as less appealing for their children and have chosen to homeschool them instead.

Government data analyzed by the Washington Post reveals that the count of homeschooled children during the last academic year was 51% higher than that recorded in 2017–2018 in states where information is available. Simultaneously, public school enrollment witnessed a decline of 4%.

Although homeschooling figures have tapered off from their peak during the pandemic, this educational approach, previously considered niche and predominantly favored by religious families, is now gaining widespread acceptance across the nation.

The Washington Post's assessment suggests that the total number of American children receiving home-based education ranges between 1.9 million and 2.7 million, surpassing the student population in Catholic schools in the US.

The surge in alternative schooling appears unrelated to a decline in the quality of traditional education. It is notably prevalent in academically high-performing districts.

Why has homeschooling become so prevalent?

Parents cite various reasons for assuming the role of educational facilitators. These include dissatisfaction with schools' inability to meet their children's individual needs, concerns about bullying, and a growing worry that curricula do not align with their values. Economic factors also play a role, with several states offering significant financial support to parents annually for homeschooling, while nonprofits also contribute funds to homeschoolers.

The burgeoning rates of homeschooling have led to the creation of an entire industry catering to parents who seek alternatives to conventional schooling for their children.

Platforms like OutSchool, enabling parents to craft personalized curricula from a range of community-sourced classes, have secured $255 million in venture capital funding since 2015.

Companies like Prenda, positioning themselves as an "Airbnb for education," aid parents in establishing microschools where a supervisor guides a small group of five to 25 students.

Despite the perks of home life and a more tailored approach, many education experts express skepticism regarding most parents' ability to match the teaching expertise of trained educators. They highlight the lack of rigorous requirements to ensure quality in homeschooling and express concern that homeschooled children might miss out on essential social interactions typically experienced in a school environment.

International

Israel-Gaza Latest

Israel took responsibility for airstrikes on Gaza’s largest refugee camp that killed and wounded dozens of people, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Israel said the strike killed Ibrahim Biari, a Hamas commander who was one of the leaders of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, and a spokesperson claimed dozens of other militants died in the strike. Palestinians reported a second major outage of internet and phone services Wednesday, and a group of foreign nationals and critically wounded people are being allowed to leave besieged Gaza into Egypt today. In the US, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that antisemitism was reaching “historic levels” following the outbreak of the war.

Sports

Saudia Arabia’s plan to conquer sports is working

The most-watched event in sports is headed back to the Middle East. Yesterday, Saudi Arabia discovered that it is effectively set to host the 2034 World Cup since it was the only country left in the bidding process after Australia withdrew hours before the deadline.

While the tournament isn’t for another 11 years, it’s a huge W for the country that has paid big bucks to dominate sports the last few years (though human rights groups have already criticized the possibility of holding the tournament there).

Thanks to billions of dollars of investment from the nation’s Sovereign Wealth Fund…

• Saudi Arabia has played host to several major sporting events, including this week’s high-profile boxing match in Riyadh and its annual Formula One Grand Prix.

• The LIV Golf Tour and the Saudi Pro League have each attracted some of the top athletes in their fields, including Brooks Koepka and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively.

Zoom out: In 2018, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised that the new Europe is the Middle East, but that vision is challenged amid the Israel-Hamas war, which threatens to become a broader regional conflict. Still, Saudi Arabia continues to pursue its goal of becoming a hotspot for global investment. Last week, Riyadh hosted the Future Investment Initiative, an elite conference dubbed Davos in the dessert, as the country tries to diversify its economy away from oil.

Entertainment

Hollywood and the CEO perks are pretty good too

Similar to the occasional provision of lackluster donuts by your boss on the office filing cabinets, the perks bestowed upon Hollywood and Big Tech CEOs are undeniably enticing. In addition to their multimillion-dollar salaries and stock earnings, those at the helm of your beloved content receive an array of significant and minor benefits, as highlighted in a recent report by the Hollywood Reporter. For instance, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has his Wi-Fi expenses covered!

The expenses for security and private jets are substantial. Meta allocates $2.3 million annually for Mark Zuckerberg's travel, while Netflix spends $1 million on private flights for Executive Chairman Reed Hastings. Meta leads in private security expenditure, dedicating $25 million solely for Zuckerberg's protection last year—a figure likely to decrease as news of his jujitsu skills spreads. Amazon allocates $1.6 million for Jeff Bezos's security, while Apple's spending on Tim Cook's security amounts to a modest $591,000.

Furthermore, what's the point of being affluent if you can't mingle on the golf course? Last year, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer had his $16,000 country club membership dues covered by the company.

In the broader context, the expansion of CEO compensation packages has been and continues to be a major topic in WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike negotiations. According to Variety, the average annual earnings of a major media CEO amounted to $32.6 million last year.