All eyes on US inflation, Subway and T-Mobile weigh M&A moves and President Joe Bidenâs headache over classified documents gets worse. â Kri
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All eyes on US inflation, Subway and T-Mobile weigh M&A moves and President Joe Bidenâs headache over classified documents gets worse. â [Kristine Aquino]( Watching inflation Key US inflation data is due today, with the market looking at [how far and how fast]( price growth can retreat. After hitting a high of over 9% last year, the headline CPI number for December is expected to come in at 6.5%. [Speculation over data leaks]( adds to the drama. Last month, trading in 10-year Treasury futures soared in the 60 seconds before the November figures were published. The Labor Department, which compiles and issues the data, dismissed the possibility of a leak.Â
M&A roundup Subway is exploring a [potential sale]( that could value the sandwich chain at more than $10 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. The process is in its early stages and Subway, which has 37,000 locations in more than 100 countries and has long been a potential acquisition target, could still decide against any transaction. Separately, T-Mobile US is considering an acquisition of [Mint Mobile](, the budget wireless provider backed by actor Ryan Reynolds. No final decision has been made and closely held Mint Mobile could opt to remain independent or sell to another party, people familiar with the matter said. Classified controversy Joe Bidenâs efforts to quell a controversy over classified documents in his private possession became more difficult after aides discovered a [second set](, a development that will intensify scrutiny of the president. House Republicans seized on the discovery at a private office, demanding [multiple probes]( of the incident even after defending Donald Trumpâs alleged mishandling of sensitive records. Subdued markets US equity futures were little changed as of 5:52 a.m. in New York. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index retreated, boosting most Group-of-10 currencies, particularly the Japanese yen. Treasuries were mixed and traded in small ranges, diverging from gains in UK government bonds. Oil and gold climbed, and Bitcoin advanced for a ninth-straight day. To catch up on the trading day in the UK and Europe, [check out todayâs edition of City Latest.Â]( Coming up⦠The much-awaited inflation data is due at 8:30 a.m., along with initial jobless claims figures. Fifteen minutes later, Federal Reserve of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker delivers remarks. Biden will give a speech on inflation and the economy at 10 a.m. More central bankers are due to speak later, including St. Louis Fedâs James Bullard and Richmond Fedâs Thomas Barkin. What weâve been reading Hereâs what caught our eye over the past 24 hours: - [Touch-screen Macs]( may be coming soon to a store near you
- Microsoft says it will give US workers [unlimited time off](
- [Teslaâs China plant expansion](has been delayed amid data concerns
- [Jumbo jets back in vogue](as first-class travel demand jumps
- [Republicans allow indoor smoking]( on Capitol HillÂ
- China stops reporting [daily Covid cases and deaths]( And finally, hereâs what Joeâs interested in this morning On today's episode of the Odd Lots podcast, we speak with Neil Dutta, Chief Economist at [Renaissance Macro](, as well as Bloomberg Opinion columnist [Conor Sen](. The topic basically is whether a soft landing is actually possible. It was a great conversation and also lot of fun. You should listen to it. We touched on a number of different things, but of course you can't talk about the inflation trajectory without talking about what's happening with the price of rent. [As Conor argued in a column](, rents aren't just set to turn down, they might actually be in for a hard landing. To paraphrase his argument, apartment rents could be facing a Minsky Moment of sorts. As Hyman Minsky famously argued, stability ultimately breeds instability. The more things go well, over time, the more risks people take, before it all goes pear shaped. So think about apartments over the years. At basically every turn, it's seemed like apartment rental was a "no lose" business. After the Great Financial Crisis, the meme was that nobody wanted to own a home anymore and that they just wanted to rent. Then there was all the migration to the cities (good for rents!). Millennials waited longer than other generations to have kids (also good for rents, since that means less buying a house in the suburbs). And of course post-Covid, we had a surge in household formation, and rents famously surged even higher. At every turn, the news has been good for apartment landlords. Now of course, new rent prices are coming down according to private sector measures (although it's TBD when and how much this will feed into CPI and PCE). So the interesting question is not whether rent inflation is rolling over, because it is. The interesting question is whether builders were lulled into thinking that the rent business would grow to the sky and therefore overbuilt new multi-family units as a result. Just for some context. Here's a chart of multi-family housing for rent starts (white line) vs. single family detached starts. It's the multifamily that's gone straight up and which easily surpassed its pre-Great Financial Crisis highs. While detached, single family units have never come close to their pre-GFC level of production. Anyway, check out the episode on [Apple](, [Spotify]( or anywhere else you get your podcasts. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter [@TheStalwartÂ]( Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Americas newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox.
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