The Domino’s nearest the Federal Reserve had really no traffic at all yesterday afternoon, as central bankers let the current inflation predicament be the sole source of their heartburn.

The big Fed meeting concluded with Chair Jerome Powell announcing that interest rates are still not coming down (yet), regurgitating the same language from his last two interest rate statements. Additionally, the Fed announced it will make changes to its bond holdings in a further attempt to slow down economic growth.

What’s the biggest obstacle to lowering interest rates?

In short: wealthy people, especially those 60 and over. Looking at the current economy is like looking at a floral sofa: Millennials say “gross,” but boomers say “sweet.”

• Since they’re the most likely generation to have already paid off a house and a car (or two), boomers don’t have to worry about borrowing costs like people without those assets do.
• And because they’ve played the long game in the stock market and have money compounding in the bank, they’re indulging in international travel, first-class airline tickets, and more.

Turns out, it’s really hard to bring down the prices of goods and services when a lot of buyers…don’t care about the price.

What’s next: While this can resolve on its own with time, the Fed may want to be more strategic. The Wall Street Journal reports that allies of former President Trump, a boomer himself, are drafting plans to curtail the Federal Reserve’s independence if he retakes the White House. Options being considered range from minor policy changes to “a long-shot assertion that the president himself should play a role in setting interest rates.”—HVL

What does it take to get onto consumers’ shopping lists these days? impact.com conducted research to find out.

Shoppers are increasingly buying with purpose and deliberation. And you can credit that to inflation. Elevated prices are sticking around longer than anyone wants them to, and it’s making customers more cautious about their carts.

The good news is that even as click rates decline, conversion rates are still on the rise. So while fewer shoppers are engaging, the ones who do are more likely than ever to make a purchase.

Get more details on how consumer spending habits are shifting and what it means for business.

The US and Saudi Arabia are reportedly nearing a historic security pact. The deal, a key priority for the Biden administration, could reshape the Middle East and lead to a path for Israel to enter into formal diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia for the first time, Bloomberg reported. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi leaders earlier this week and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday to discuss the framework of the deal, which would see Saudi Arabia recognize Israel in exchange for a defense relationship with the US. Israel would need to end its war in Gaza and agree to a path for Palestinian statehood.

Several states sued the NCAA over “unfair” NIL contracts. The suit, filed by a bipartisan group of states including New York and Florida, argues that the NCAA impedes student-athletes from brokering better name, image, and likeness deals before they choose which college to attend. The states argue that the NCAA’s existing rule keeps athletes in the dark about the true earning potential at each school. It’s just one of multiple lawsuits against the NCAA in the wake of landmark policy changes allowing student-athletes to profit.

🪧 Campus unrest over Gaza continued across the country. Following Tuesday night’s arrests of 300 pro-Palestine protesters at Columbia University in New York and clashes of protesters, counterprotesters, and police at UCLA, more demonstrations popped up throughout the US. At least a dozen people were arrested yesterday at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, while police reportedly deployed “chemical irritants” at a protest at the University of Arizona. UCLA canceled classes Wednesday following the night of violence on campus.

If you thought your situationship was befuddling, imagine being a Tesla investor. This week, on the heels of a groundbreaking deal with China, the company laid off its entire 500-person, ultra-successful Supercharger team, leaving stakeholders wondering what the future of EVs will look like.

Tesla’s Superchargers—the charging industry gold standard—are critical to widespread EV adoption due to their reliability and efficiency. Without Tesla leading the charge, a lot of companies are left hanging:

• Executives at Rivian are concerned. Along with Ford and GM, Rivian is in the middle of adopting Tesla’s charging connector to give its customers access to the Tesla network.
• Construction work on Supercharger sites in Texas and deals to expand sites in New York City were put on hold seemingly indefinitely.

It may or may not be political, too. Last year, President Biden praised Musk for his decision to open Tesla chargers up to other car manufacturers as a means to boost EV adoption—a key component of the administration’s signature Inflation Reduction Act. On X, Musk said that Tesla will continue to grow its charging infrastructure “at a slower pace for new locations” but will focus on “100% uptime and expansion of existing locations.”—CC

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It’s no Farmville renaissance, but LinkedIn released three new games on its site yesterday: word games Pinpoint and Crossclimb and logic puzzle Queens. The additions highlight just how vital word games and puzzles are right now, especially for publishers.

How to play? You can access the games via this link. You can’t easily share your scores, but you can DM them to your former internship boss.

With this new feature, LinkedIn is following in digital media’s footsteps despite its social media roots.

• Wordle, which the NYT bought in 2022 for a low seven-figure sum, was played over 4 billion times in 2023. That’s half of the total 8 billion times people played games via the NYT last year, according to Axios.
• Hearst acquired indie puzzle creator Puzzmo last December.

Zoom out: Even though it’s littered with influencers sharing their thoughts on success, LinkedIn might be cooler than some social platforms still hanging on to their share button for dear life. The company brought in $119 million in mobile app revenue during the first quarter of 2024, more than X and Snapchat combined, according to Appfigures.—MM

Quote: “There is nothing soulless about The Lion King.”

You come at the lion king, you best not miss. Some moviegoers have argued that the 2019 photorealistic CGI remake of The Lion King and its upcoming prequel, directed by award-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, are sucking the life out of the original movie’s unique animation style as part of a cynical Disney cash grab. “You’re too good and talented for this [Disney CEO Bob] Iger’s soulless machine,” one X user backhand-complimented Jenkins, who clapped back with a passionate defense of the franchise. The 2019 film grossed $1.6 billion despite its arguably uncanny photorealism.

Stat: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink—or go faster, apparently. At the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, it’s unlikely the Thoroughbreds will gallop any quicker than they usually do. That’s because there’s been virtually no improvement in winning times since 1960, Sportico reported. In fact, the average Derby winner’s time in the 2010s was slightly slower than in the 1960s. Compare that to Olympic track races, where humans are still setting new records all the time. Horse Knowers believe that breeding programs, which are meant to create the strongest and fastest horses possible, have likely reached their maximum potential. That would mean Secretariat’s 1973 record will never be broken.

Read: The romantic history of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting. (WSJ)