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birb_cromble  22hr ago (text post)   355 thread views

Qeekly Finance Thread 2026-10-31

A weekly thread to discuss financial matters - from personal all the way up to global.

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This weeks roundup:

The Fed has decided to hold at 3.75-4.00%, despite inflation rates remaining over target. Two votes dissented. Official communication indicates that more data is needed before another increase, while critics argue that the hold is due to political pressure around the upcoming election this week.

The Fed seems like they're stuck in a tight spot, if you believe the thesis that inflation is currently being driven by policy choices that are independent of interest rates.

[https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2130357/000162828026067168/anthropicpbc-sx1.htm](Anthropic has disclosed its S-1 to the public). Reporting has been highly variedso far, with something akin to Scott Adams' "two screens" metaphor happening. Bulls are focusing entirely on operating income and claiming that accounting losses on convertible notes are immaterial. Bears are focusing on a noteworthy lack of Q3 data.

Personally, I am not particularly impressed. But I'm very interested in bullish takes that don't involve the phrases "recursive self improvement" or "super intelligence".

Tech stocks stumbled this week as investors have grown anxious about cash flow. Google and Amazon, in particular, saw dips. Whether this anxiety persists remains to be seen.

As mostly expected, fixed I-bond rate is rising to 1.4% as of November 1, composite rate will be 5.51% for the next six months.

I actually plan to suffer through using Treasury Direct this week and buy some.

I've found that TD's clunkiness has been greatly exaggerated. Maybe it's that I have low standards, maybe it's had significant improvements (I know that's at least true in the case of one area), but to me, it's fine.

Don't forget that you now need id.me to log in, tho.

It's far better than it was four years ago. Even then, I found myself cursing at it less than I did Vanguard's interface for my 401k.

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