Aug 15, 2024

Amasi-ng Grace, How Sweet the Sound…

Amasi, as we all know, is a thick curdled sour fermented milk product from southern Africa, sometimes compared to cottage cheese, but with a much stronger flavor, a lot like this newsletter. It's not strictly cheese, but then again, neither is Cheddar. And as far as cheese puns go, this one is completely fitting for this morning's cheddlines, because even a wretch like me is about to be saved, it seems, from a host of inflationary worries:

Why did the cheese go to Paris? For the culture!

—Matt Davis, N2K Chedditor

P.S. Disney's new Villain Land is plastered all over our Instagram.

Quote of the Day

"It takes a village to raise robots."—Dr. Ali Kahani

Read the story

1. No News Is Good News on Wall Street as Inflation Drops to 2.9%

Wall Street held firm yesterday after the Fed's latest update on inflation—its consumer price index report—came in almost exactly as economists expected at 2.9%. The data should keep the Federal Reserve on track to cut its main interest rate at its next meeting in September.

Most costs are cooling, but there's one stubborn area: housing. So-called "shelter costs," which include both mortgages and rents, saw a 0.4% increase, compared to a 0.2% increase in June. Fed chair Jay Powell said one possible reason is it takes a while for tenants to turn over, and then landlords raise rents. My landlord, of course, just jacks the price every year no matter what. But that's New York, baby!

The Fed has been keeping interest rates high in hopes of stifling inflation, which topped 9% two years ago. The only question now is whether the Fed will do the expected 0.25% or go absolutely freaking wild and do—gasp!—a WHOLE HALF.

Based on how cautious Wild Man Powell looks, I'll bet you $10,000 in Trumpcoin it'll be the former. That said, if more data over the next few weeks points to a slowing economy, including a report today about how much U.S. shoppers spent at retailers, then some economists do expect Jay to throw caution to the wind. Or perhaps to at least write the wind a strongly worded letter. Read More

2. Houses Are Still Crazy But Refi Surges 35% as Mortgage Rates Drop Slightly

What is it with the cult of homeownership in this country? I genuinely don't understand why you would tie yourself down to an asset you have to depend on for shelter when you could just stick the money in the stock market, be nimbler, and earn a steadyish 7% annually.

Still. For the benefit of the idiots in the back who didn't grok that: Mortgage refinance applications surged by 35% last week, and 118% compared to the same week last year, following a drop in mortgage rates. That's even though the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage decreased only slightly from 6.55% to 6.54%, although it has fallen 33 basis points over the past four weeks and is 62 basis points lower than the previous year. The Mortgage Bankers Association noted this was the strongest week for refinance applications since May 2022.

On the back of a napkin, I worked out that in New York state, a $500,000 mortgage on a $625,000 ~~hovel~~ home, including property taxes and insurance, is $4,228.88 compared to $4338.39 four weeks ago, according to the mortgage calculator at the Federal Office of Financial Readiness. Meanwhile the closing costs of refinancing tend to run between 2% and 6% of the loan premium, or $10,000 to $30,000, to save yourself just $1,200 a year or $36,000 over the life of the mortgage. My sense is you could probably save more by getting a good credit card, spending loads, and collecting the points—at least until a hostile Congress outlaws credit-card rewards. Still, this is not financial advice. I mean, it obviously is my strong financial opinion. But it's definitely not advice. You know. Read More

From @cheddar

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the wickedest of them all? 😈✨

Which Disney villain do you want to see in Magic Kingdom's new Villains Land?

Follow @cheddar on Instagram!

3. The Hottest Real Estate Market in the Country Is... Oshkosh, Wisconsin?!?

I would honestly rather do a lot of things than own a home in Wisconsin, including cutting off a toe (my own, I mean). But the city of Oshkosh leads as the hottest real estate market in the U.S., according to Realtor.com.

Amid high mortgage rates, some people are still determined to find something affordable, and Oshkosh offers homes with a median list price of $374,000, significantly lower than the national median. That's attracting attention, particularly alongside Oshkosh's (ahem) tranquil environment. Only 339 days (more or less) till next year's Oshkosh air show!

In July, properties in Oshkosh were viewed 3.7 times more than the national average and sold much quicker, with homes staying on the market for only 18 days. The competitive market has led buyers to employ creative strategies, such as waiving home inspections, which sounds like a great idea, given that you'll be living in the damn thing forever, to make their offers more appealing.

The surge of interest is largely from buyers from larger neighboring cities like Milwaukee, drawn by the lower cost of living and "appealing lifestyle" that Oshkosh offers. To people from Milwaukee, admittedly. Although their basketball team did win the NBA two years ago, so what do I know?

Sell me on Wisconsin if you live there. I'm intrigued. And I do really love my toes. Read More

You Need 2 Know About This Box!

Meet the Sunset Box, a quarterly subscription service sending home, wellness, and travel goodies straight to your doorstep, curated by editors at mag Sunset, the Western-lifestyle magazine that just so happens to be a sister company of ours.

Since you clearly have good taste (you're an N2K subscriber, after all), we think you'll love this box. Use code CHEDDAR15 for 15% off your subscription.

Gimme the Box!

Note: Sadly does not contain any cheese.

4. Your Next Burger Could Be Delivered by a Robot That Definitely Won't Murder You

In news that probably has zero risk or potential negative consequences, Shake Shack is about to partner with Serve Robotics to explore the idea of robot-delivered meals. We spoke with Dr. Ali Kahani, CEO of the bot-maker, to hear more.

The firm offers "a last-mile solution that can deliver anything that's less than 50 pounds," Dr. Kahani said, and it's rolling out 2,000 robots in Los Angeles over the next year with other major cities to come. My kid weighs 47 pounds. I am seriously thinking this could be a ~~good~~ alternative to the school bus.

"The robots have the advantage of not getting stuck in traffic or not having to go for parking. So, they're pretty good. They're pretty fast," he said. "They're fairly reliable."

Record scratch. That's a leaden use of the word "fairly." Although they do have a higher "completion rate," apparently "even higher than human couriers," and "from pick-up to drop-off, it's usually less than 20 minutes."

Assuming a human courier doesn't dump the robot in the nearest river first. I hope they have good insurance.

"We've been working on this for seven years," he said. "Robots are really embodied AI. It takes a while to build the data, to get to build the hardware, to build the AI models that can navigate complex human environments. And that's all thanks to the investments from Uber and Nvidia and 7-Eleven. We've been very fortunate to have partners like that, that have helped us not just on the investment side, but also on the technical side. It takes a village to raise robots."

Robots must figure out how fast they can go, how to avoid things, what route to take, how to suck up for a better tip, and AI helps. The latest generation of robots has five times as much computing power as the previous generation. Dr. Kahani, who probably hasn't seen any of the Terminator movies, not even the criminally underrated Terminator Genisys, also said he hopes the idea of these robots gets "boring" fast.

"Robots have been around for years right now in L.A, where we have been doing commercial deliveries with Uber Eats or with Postmates. So things have a tendency to get headlines when they are more interesting, but the robots get boring very quickly after that. If you do come to to L.A., check out Hollywood and Fairfax, the areas we are operating in. See it in person. It's really unbelievable the first time you do."

Sure thing, Dr. Robot. But then why do I hear this in my head as I'm reading your quote? Watch Now

5. Texas Sues GM Over Privacy Violations

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against General Motors, accusing the automaker of violating the privacy rights of millions of Texans by improperly collecting and selling location data from their vehicles. The disclosure, initially brought to light by the New York Times, raises significant privacy alarms.

The lawsuit alleges that GM deceived drivers into surrendering their driving data, which was then sold to data brokers. The data, collected from over 1.8 million Texans across 14 million vehicles, was reportedly used by companies to assign risk scores to drivers, influencing their insurance rates without their consent. The lawsuit marks the first state enforcement action against an automaker over data privacy concerns related to the Times' reporting.

GM said they are in discussions with the attorney general's office and expressed a commitment to consumer privacy, but you know, I've expressed a committed to eating healthy, and I still housed a cherry ice-cream and chocolate fudge sundae the size of a large hedgehog last night. Read More