>>Fed Official Anticipates Smaller Hikes Moving Forward (Philadelphia, PA) -- A top Federal Reserve official anticipates smaller interest rate hikes going forward to tame inflation. The Fed's Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said the central bank should lift interest rates in quarter-point increments, adding that the days of raising them 75 basis points at a time have passed. Harker will be a voting member of the committee that sets rates this year. He predicted core inflation should be around three-and-a-half percent this year and the Fed should hit its inflation goal of two-percent in 2025.
>>CEOs Predict 2023 Recession (New York, NY) -- Many CEOs are predicting a recession this year. A survey from Conference Board's C-suite says most CEOs' top worry for the coming year is a slowing economy. They also cite inflation and an uptick in borrowing costs.
>>Bipartisan Bill Would Ban Lawmakers From Trading Individual Stocks (Washington, DC) -- A bipartisan bill would ban members of Congress and their families from trading individual stocks. The TRUST in Congress Act would require lawmakers to put investment assets in a blind trust during their time in office. The law is aimed at ensuring members cannot use their positions to get an upper hand in making investment decisions. The bill introduced in the Republican-led House has the support of dozens of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
>>Apple CEO Tim Cook Requests, Receives 40% Pay Cut (Cupertino, CA) -- Apple CEO Tim Cook is taking a 40-percent pay cut. Cook's compensation totaled just under 83-million dollars in 2022 and he'll receive 49-million this year. Cook requested the change in pay Thursday in response to 64-percent of shareholders approving his pay package last year, down from 95-percent approval for Apple's 2020 fiscal year. In signing off on the pay cut the board still praised Cook's performance and said it has confidence in his long-term strategic decisions.
>>Tesla Cuts Prices In U.S., Germany (Undated) -- Tesla is cutting prices on its top-selling vehicles in the U.S. and Germany. The luxury high-performance electric carmaker announced late Thursday that prices for the Model 3 and Model Y will fall by six-percent to 20-percent in the U.S. The move follows price cuts announced last week in China and other Asian markets. It marks a reversal in the strategy Tesla followed through much of last year when demand was strong and average prices for its vehicles had been trending higher.
