The Bigger Picture

Happy Sunday! This week brought a major shift in the economy as the Federal Reserve made a pivotal move on interest rates. Today we explore two key areas shaping this evolving landscape: the latest trends in inflation and the state of small businesses. Have feedback for us? Just hit reply - we'd love to hear from you!   The bigger picture This week, the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates for the first time since the pandemic, signaling the end of, or at least an interlude in, the war on America’s least-favorite word of the last few years… inflation. Inflation dropped to 2.5% in August, per the latest Consumer Price Index [report](, down from the mid-2022 peak of 9.1%, and the lowest reading since 2021. It is important to note, as we’re always at pains to do here at Chartr, that the cooldown doesn’t mean that prices are dropping, but that they’re rising less quickly. Exactly what that headline 2.5% year-on-year figure entails can also get a little lost in the mix among the buzz and bluster, so we’ve zoomed out on the bigger picture to explore exactly where prices have risen and fallen the most over the last 4 years. We also explored respite in the ever-troubling battle between higher prices and wage increases, the combined impact of inflation and unemployment (the cheerfully named Misery Index), and much more in our full piece on Sherwood News. Read: [The battle for inflation is over, but its impact remains](   Other great stories from the week - [LA’s streaming gold rush is over. Film and TV workers have been left in the dust]( There’s (next to) no business in show business, like no business — they know. - [Western game studios should be very nervous about ‘Black Myth: Wukong’]( A little-known Chinese video game developer made the biggest hit of 2024… maybe ever. - [Jay got his way]( How Powell was even more instrumental in the 50 basis point cut than you may think. - [Inside the CIA’s investment portfolio]( Even the Agency is climbing aboard the artificial intelligence hype train. - [Why YouTube, not Disney or Amazon, might be Netflix’s real competition]( The streaming wars are over… long live the streaming wars.   America has enabled founder mode The entrepreneurial spirit is coursing through the US, with small-business formations booming, as an increasing number of plucky upstarts have a crack at living their version of the American Dream. And, if Kamala Harris’s proposed policies for small businesses (like a $50,000 tax break) come to fruition, the surge could continue. New business applications truly took off during the pandemic, when we were all afforded a little more time to mull pipe dreams we’d only flirted with in the past. In July 2020 alone, for example, there were almost 550,000 applications, and the figure hasn’t dipped back to pre-pandemic levels since. Read: [Why more Americans than ever are starting small businesses](   Thanks for stopping by! Have some [feedback](mailto:daily@chartr.co?subject=Feedback&body=Hi, I like the newsletters, but I had a thought for you...) or want to [sponsor this newsletter](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com?subject=I’m interested in advertising with Sherwood Media)?   Not a subscriber? Sign up for free below. [Subscribe](   [X]( [Instagram]( [Chartr Logo]( Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... [See more]( [Sherwood Terms and Conditions]( [Our Editorial Standards]( [Contact Us](mailto:daily@chartr.co?body=Hi%2C%0A%0AI%20like%20the%20newsletters%2C%20but%20I%20had%20a%20thought%20for%20you...&subject=Feedback) [Advertise With Us](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com?body=I%E2%80%99m%20interested%20in%20advertising%20with%20Sherwood%20Media) [Unsubscribe](newsletter=chartr) [Privacy Policy](