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birb_cromble  2d ago (text post)   734 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.

Reading that article I see that we are capped at 10k of those bonds per year. Is that right?

Yes. 10k per individual. There is also a "gift box" loophole, where you can buy an unlimited amount to be gifted, then gift them to yourself.

I've seen that limit be the basis for an argument that they're designed specifically for the upper-middle-class: people for whom 10k/year matters, but who can afford to save 10k/year (or 20k/couple) after 401ks/IRAs. Not sure how well that argument takes into account that the limit hasn't been increased in... a decade? Two?

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