Insights into Inflation, IBM Layoffs, TikTok Trouble, and Forensic Analysis | The Weekly MoneyClip

[00:00:00] Is TikTok on the clock? The future of forensics in America and is AI eliminating jobs at IBM.

[00:00:19] Welcome back to the weekly money clip. In a market with millions of podcasts, it is tough

[00:00:23] to stay on top of the essential business and tech stories beyond headlines. This week we

[00:00:29] will be counting down five key moments from last week to give you context for the week ahead.

[00:00:34] As always, clips are under five minutes from voices you trust adding context to headlines

[00:00:40] from the week behind to prepare you for the week ahead. Before we jump in, let's review

[00:00:45] the week's top headlines. This week in the world of finance, business and technology, we witness

[00:00:51] a series of impactful events that speak volumes about the current state and the trajectory of our

[00:00:57] global economy. At Freddie Mac, a significant leadership transition unfolded as Michael Hutchins was

[00:01:04] appointed interim CEO signaling a new chapter for the mortgage giant amid evolving market conditions.

[00:01:10] Boeing faced further headwinds as Fitch ratings adjusted its outlook to stable from positive,

[00:01:15] spotlighting challenges in the aerospace sector, particularly around the 737 MAX deliveries.

[00:01:22] Meanwhile in the energy sector, Italy's Saras reported a stark decline in its core profit for 2023.

[00:01:28] Just as it stands on the brink of a takeover by VTAL, reflecting the turbulent waters of the global

[00:01:34] oil market. The stock market had a difficult week with indices like the S&P 500, Dow 30 and

[00:01:41] Nasdaq all marking declines hinting at the broader sentiments of caution and re-evaluation among investors.

[00:01:48] In a twist of positivity, Rivian stock rose, a sign of investor confidence in the electric

[00:01:53] vehicle market despite the company's ongoing challenges with cash burn. Amid these business

[00:01:59] maneuvers and market shifts, the consumer world was greeted with a sign of hope for those seeking

[00:02:04] to escape the grind. Spring travel has surged to an all-time high with volumes eclipsing last year's

[00:02:10] records. Those were the key headlines. Now let's dive into the stories behind the headlines.

[00:02:16] This week we welcome Scott Stantis, Ilya Shapiro, Sarah Rumpf, Simpson Garfinkle, and Jake Novak.

[00:02:22] At number five in our countdown, we begin with Scott Stantis reviewing a strong jobs numbers report

[00:02:29] and the fallout. Scott is an internationally syndicated editorial cartoonist,

[00:02:34] Senior Fellow at the Alabama Policy Institute, and co-host of DMZ America podcast.

[00:02:40] Here he discusses the recent increase in inflation pushing up by a few tenths of percentage points.

[00:02:45] Scott expresses concerns about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates which could negatively

[00:02:50] affect the economy. Stantis highlights how housing costs are a major factor contributing to

[00:02:56] the rise in inflation, with current numbers showing nearly 60% of income going towards housing.

[00:03:03] He suggests liberalizing zoning to build more property inventory, focusing on constructing

[00:03:09] apartment buildings and condominiums in central urban areas. He emphasizes the need for long-term

[00:03:15] solutions to address the housing crisis, offering insights on how to accommodate the growing

[00:03:20] population while conserving the environment and enhancing city life. Let's join Scott now for

[00:03:26] his entire analysis. Hi I'm editorial cartoonist Scott Stantis coming to you from MoneyClip.

[00:03:32] Well new numbers, new inflation numbers have come out, and inflation has indeed ticked up a couple

[00:03:37] of tenths of percentage points and let's hope this doesn't make the Federal Reserve go berserk

[00:03:42] and raise interest rates or even threaten to raise interest rates because that really would put

[00:03:47] the kabosh on an economy that's looking healthier and healthier. But I want to talk to you about

[00:03:52] today is housing. Housing costs are one of the contributing factors to the uptick in inflation

[00:03:59] and let me tell you a little story. Back when I was young, and that was a very long time ago,

[00:04:05] the average or the common knowledge or common thinking on how much housing should cost is roughly

[00:04:11] one week of your income. That is somewhere in the neighborhood of 22, 24, 25 percent of your income.

[00:04:17] That number has changed so dramatically that the most recent numbers show that nearly 60 percent

[00:04:23] or over of income is now going towards housing. That obviously means far less money to spend

[00:04:30] consumer goods on gas, on clothing. Just how can we correct this problem? Yes, it's a problem.

[00:04:39] The obvious answer for me is to look at market solutions. What's the market solution?

[00:04:45] The number one factor driving this ridiculous uptick in the cost of housing and the cost of houses

[00:04:52] and the cost of rents is the lack of inventory. Let's begin with liberalizing some zoning,

[00:05:01] and let's start building inventory. My suggestion, my hope, is that they go vertical. That is

[00:05:09] apartments and condominiums in centrally located areas of cities because what happens is if you go

[00:05:16] horizontal, obviously you eat up natural resources and you destroy the things that make living in those

[00:05:21] communities worth living. Long-term effect, this is something that's not going to happen overnight

[00:05:28] obviously. If it does happen overnight, don't live in those buildings because they're dangerous.

[00:05:35] If we look down the road, if we actually approach this issue as statesmen should approach an issue,

[00:05:42] look at the long term. You're having a population growth that's significantly stalled because

[00:05:49] the number of people are not having children, but we are having an influx of immigrants.

[00:05:54] What is the best way to house these people and what opportunities do we have to house them,

[00:05:59] build high rises in central locations, building the central cities, reinvigorating the central cities,

[00:06:07] makes all the sense in the world. For many clip I'm Scott Stannis.

[00:06:10] We now continue the countdown with number four. We join Ilya Shapiro. Ilya is the director of

[00:06:21] constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute and author of Supreme Disorder and Shapiro's

[00:06:27] Gavill on Substack. In this segment he tackles the TikTok band discussion, noting both the Heritage

[00:06:33] Foundation and the Uniparty are citing with China's Select Committee against Trump and the Keto Institute

[00:06:39] in opposition to the ban on TikTok. Shapiro clarifies the bill does not ban TikTok outright,

[00:06:45] but prohibits ownership by hostile foreign states. Concerns stem from communist China's potential

[00:06:50] to manipulate algorithms and gather data. While the bill is not foolproof, it aims to safeguard

[00:06:56] America from foreign influence. He specifically highlights ownership by entities other than the

[00:07:02] Chinese government would not pose a problem. The debate now centers on national security over first

[00:07:08] amendment rights. Here is Ilya's entire audio op-ed. Well, the topic of the day is the bill to ban,

[00:07:15] but not quite ban about that a moment, TikTok. And there are some odd coalitions on this. I saw

[00:07:20] this tweeted out. It's Heritage and the quote unquote Uniparty. I guess that means most of both

[00:07:28] political parties are at least all unanimous the China Select Committee against Trump and the Keto

[00:07:37] Institute who are against banning TikTok. So here's the deal. I've read the bill. Make sure you read

[00:07:41] the bill. It's important what it does doesn't ban TikTok. It bans ownership by a hostile foreign

[00:07:48] state of TikTok and other information sources as defined in the statute. Again, I refer to the

[00:07:56] statute for the actual text. If bite dance the Chinese parent company divested itself of TikTok

[00:08:04] tomorrow, then it's perfectly fine. That's why this is not a first amendment issue. This is a national

[00:08:11] security issue. Just like CIFIUS, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has blocked

[00:08:18] various sensitive investments by foreign governments. Just like the Federal Communications Commission

[00:08:25] limits the percentage of foreign ownership in key communications networks. This is a concern about

[00:08:34] the Chinese, the Communist Chinese influencing hearts and minds through all sorts of algorithmic

[00:08:41] manipulation, data gathering about Americans, sewing confusion, etc., etc. I myself do not use TikTok.

[00:08:48] My kids are not old enough to use it but I have read enough to understand how it soes chaos

[00:08:54] and weakens America psychologically using sophisticated tools. It is not an America's interest

[00:09:02] to have it owned by the red Chinese. This bill would prevent that. They're a waste to get around.

[00:09:09] It's like an 80% solution, not 100% solution. If you go to Canada and download the app, if you use

[00:09:14] a VPN into Mexico or something, they're a waste to get around it. But this would solve most uses and

[00:09:21] would effectively prevent the red Chinese from destroying America in this way with this information

[00:09:29] psychological operation. Legally speaking, it's not a first amendment issue. Like I said,

[00:09:34] if this was not a Chinese company, if this was spun off and Jeff Yes, who's a friend and

[00:09:40] has supported lots of things that I've done, who's a big investor owned it, which I would love

[00:09:45] for him to do rather than the Chinese, that would be great or somebody else. It wouldn't be

[00:09:51] meta by the way. Trump's concern is that Facebook would take it over. I think American antitrust

[00:09:56] authorities would not allow that but in any event, the issue is not the speech or that it's

[00:10:01] platform, the tech platform, social media, what have you is that it's owned by the communist Chinese.

[00:10:06] There are other legal objections that have been raised but they don't hold a chem to it. The

[00:10:11] debate has become first amendment versus national security and look, I understand Jeff Yeses doesn't

[00:10:16] want to lose a stake. So he should divest or sell or what have you but point is the Chinese would

[00:10:22] make an awful lot of money if they sold their stake in TikTok, but they don't want to because they

[00:10:27] realized this way to damage America proving again that this national security issue might

[00:10:34] Gallagher's bill for the select committee on China would be a good thing.

[00:10:37] Welcome back to number three in our weekly countdown with back with Sarah Rump offering another

[00:10:47] take on the TikTok ban. Sarah Rump is the contributing editor at Mediaite. In this clip she points out

[00:10:53] while it's important to address what TikTok takes from users, we need to also focus on what it

[00:10:59] offers. Studies show the content we consume impacts our cognitive development. Chinese TikTok

[00:11:05] emphasizes educational content unlike the American version which promotes harmful challenges

[00:11:11] and trends. With American children spending significant time on the app, it's crucial to be proactive

[00:11:17] in curating the content we view to protect our mental health. Here's the rest of the piece from Sarah.

[00:11:24] Hey all this is Sarah Rump contributing editor at Mediaite talking about TikTok. Congress is

[00:11:29] debating a bill that would force the parent company by dance to sell it so that it would no longer

[00:11:34] be controlled by the Chinese government. A big part of the debate has been talking about security

[00:11:40] and the data that this app is collecting on all of us and whether that's really secure.

[00:11:46] And those are valid concerns for sure, but we've all been giving so much data between our smartphones

[00:11:53] and Facebook and Google and Amazon over the years. There's a point where the horse is way,

[00:11:59] way, way out of the bar at this point. But I'd like to talk about not what TikTok is taking

[00:12:06] from its users but what it's giving to its users because I think that's being overshadowed

[00:12:12] in the debate. There are a lot of studies out there showing that you are what you eat when it comes

[00:12:19] to your brain as well. The content that you feed your brain affects you in a lot of different ways

[00:12:26] and that can be in a positive sense like all this study is showing that parents that read

[00:12:31] of their kids and encourage them to love reading that that results in higher IQ scores and test

[00:12:39] wars down the road. And then the same time young kids that are exposed to violence and trauma,

[00:12:45] whether that's in real life or in the entertainment they consume, that that can have bad effects.

[00:12:50] We've got all the studies showing teenagers, especially susceptible to depression and anxiety

[00:12:57] from the social media that they're consuming, that the effects of Instagram videos in inducing

[00:13:05] eating disorders with teenage girls especially. It's important to note that the version of TikTok

[00:13:11] that bite dance runs in China for the people of China is totally different than the one in America.

[00:13:17] The Chinese version has strict limits for how long a child can use it only 40 minutes a day.

[00:13:24] There's a pause between videos to disincentivize the mindless sort of scrolling addictive behavior

[00:13:31] and the content itself is totally different. It's heavily curated and what is being promoted

[00:13:37] to children is educational videos, fun science experiments you can do at home, lessons about nature,

[00:13:44] lessons about history and geography. What we are getting here in America is horrifically bad

[00:13:51] pranks and things that are unhealthy and dangerous and these stupid TikTok challenges and trends

[00:13:59] that you see pop up in your newsfeed every now and then that somebody ended up hospitalized or worse

[00:14:07] killed because of some terrible thing that they tried. The content that TikTok is serving to Americans

[00:14:13] is meant to make us dumber and more addicted to it. It's meant to be a sensory overload.

[00:14:22] And right now I think that the latest figure I saw was that kids that have the app are using it or

[00:14:28] on it for an hour or two a day. Anything about how much that adds up,

[00:14:32] that's time that they're not working on their homework or outplaying with their friends or talking

[00:14:37] with their families and other things that are good for you. There was a tech expert that was on

[00:14:43] 60 minutes last year. If you Google it, 60 minutes TikTok episode, he compared the Chinese version of

[00:14:49] TikTok to spinach and the American version to opium. It is in China's interest if Americans are

[00:14:57] less educated and less effective and are more emotionally distraught and have more mental health

[00:15:04] challenges. This app is encouraging very detrimental and divisive feelings and behaviors.

[00:15:11] I'm not quite sure if this would be successful with TikTok but I did want to end on a positive note.

[00:15:17] I obviously have to read a lot of political content for work, but my Instagram feed despite

[00:15:24] what I'm accessing elsewhere on the internet. My Instagram feed is baking videos and nation videos

[00:15:30] and silly quirky comics and the actual friends and family in my life because that's what I have

[00:15:36] deliberately clicked on over the years. That's what I've told the algorithms I want. So think about

[00:15:43] what you're consuming and let's be careful about what we're feeding our brains.

[00:15:51] At number two this week, we address the comeback of analog computing. Simpson Garfinkle is a

[00:15:56] science journalist who has published hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines and 17 books.

[00:16:02] Research interests broadly include data science ethics, digital forensics, personal information

[00:16:08] management, counterintelligence and counterterrorism. He is currently chief scientist,

[00:16:14] basis tech LLC. Here Simpson highlights a recent NIST report outlining visions and priorities for

[00:16:21] forensic science in the US. The report discusses a symposium where experts presented updates in

[00:16:26] wet lab and digital forensics with a focus on AI's impact. Garfinkle predicts AI will automate tasks

[00:16:33] currently done by examiners, leading to robotic labs and get evidence buttons in digital forensics.

[00:16:39] Garfinkle believes the report is a valuable resource for those interested in the future of forensic

[00:16:44] analysis. His insights shed light on the evolving landscape of forensics, offering a glimpse into

[00:16:51] the likely future of the field. Let's join Simpson for his entire op-ed. Hi, this is Simpson Garfinkle

[00:16:57] for CenterClip talking about technology and I wanted to draw people's attention to a report that

[00:17:04] just came out from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and it's a report

[00:17:11] of a meeting at NIS that I participated in. The report is about visions and strategic priorities

[00:17:19] for forensic science in the United States. NIST had this two day long symposium where lots

[00:17:25] of experts came in and talked about what's happening in forensics, both wet lab forensics and

[00:17:32] digital forensics my area. I gave a presentation about how artificial intelligence is going to be

[00:17:39] impacting digital forensics and forensics in general. One of the points that I kept making was

[00:17:45] that most things that are being done now by forensics examiners are increasingly going to be done

[00:17:52] by artificial intelligence and this includes both finding data to analyze and doing the data

[00:18:00] writing the reports and especially we're beginning to see robot labs happen and forensics labs in a

[00:18:09] box and in the world of digital forensics my goal is to create what I call a get evidence button

[00:18:15] where just the entire analysis was much as possible is done automatically. So the report is NIST

[00:18:24] special publication 2100-06 long term vision and strategic priorities for forensic science in

[00:18:34] the United States. It's a fun report and as much as any of these reports are fun if you care about

[00:18:40] what's happening with the analysis of fingerprints or bullet holes or the analysis of computers that

[00:18:47] we pick up during drug raids it's a report worth looking at a vision of what is happening today

[00:18:54] and what's going to be happening in the future. Simpson Garfengal for CenterClip.

[00:19:01] To round out our countdown this week Jake Novak joins the money clip to discuss IBM

[00:19:07] and jobs being lost to AI. He thinks this is an overlooked story. Novak thinks a mean headline needs

[00:19:14] to be the significant layoffs announcement at IBM. As a major leader in the tech and consulting sectors

[00:19:20] IBM declared substantial cuts in their communications and marketing divisions due to advancements

[00:19:26] in artificial intelligence this move reflects IBM's plan to replace a substantial portion of their

[00:19:31] workforce with AI technology. Jake states this decision sets a precedent for other companies to

[00:19:37] follow suit in cutting staff and utilizing AI impacting job opportunities in America. Meanwhile

[00:19:44] shareholders and companies like Nvidia heavily involved in AI manufacturing stand to profit.

[00:19:50] The IBM layoffs highlight a transformative shift in business operations mirroring the potential

[00:19:56] impact of the AI revolution. Let's join Jake Novak now. Hi I'm Jake Novak and you're going to

[00:20:01] see a lot of political and war stories as your top stories in the news today and in the days that

[00:20:06] follow but I really think your number one story today should be the major announcement of layoffs

[00:20:11] at IBM which is definitely the result of AI. IBM of course still a major corporation maybe you don't

[00:20:19] think it's the top corporation that he used to be as far as being one of the top five corporate names

[00:20:24] in America but of course it is still a major major leader in not only tech but in consulting in

[00:20:31] America and they announced this morning major cuts in their communications and marketing divisions

[00:20:36] and that comes on the heels of not that long ago IBM saying it's going to be aggressively looking

[00:20:41] to use AI to replace a lot of workers at the company. Now when IBM does things it is a very big

[00:20:48] bell weather for the rest of corporate America it was IBM that was one of the leaders and pioneers

[00:20:53] in the offshoring trend. It was IBM that went away from the building of hardware building computers

[00:21:00] and moving more towards software and consulting and work and cloud computing and all that kind of

[00:21:04] stuff. IBM is definitely a pioneer and you can bet that other companies although tech some tech

[00:21:10] companies have larger marketing and communications divisions than others but this will absolutely be

[00:21:16] one of the first targets for other corporations be they tech or not to cut their staffs and use AI.

[00:21:23] So now it is no longer a theoretical discussion we are now seeing a major corporation cutting human

[00:21:28] workers and replacing them with AI. Now when it comes to new technologies I am always one of the

[00:21:35] people who says don't immediately assume that there will be a net loss in jobs for humans and in

[00:21:40] wealth for humans just because there's that new technology that's coming along but in this case

[00:21:45] it really is going to be hard to make the argument that this will lead to more jobs in one way

[00:21:51] leads to more companies and more way. It's going to be a very small number of people at least

[00:21:56] didn't the onset who will be making a ton of money from AI. Now that doesn't include folks who

[00:22:01] are investing in it as stock market investors for those of you who own shares of Nvidia which makes

[00:22:07] the computer chips heavily used for AI you know what I'm talking about you've made a lot of money

[00:22:11] in the last year or so but as far as average workers people who aren't active traders things like

[00:22:15] that the AI revolution is going to sound a lot more like this story at IBM for the next maybe

[00:22:21] few years before we get some of the positive data showing hey some people did get new jobs

[00:22:27] it were new businesses created etc etc this should be the number one issue in America right now because

[00:22:32] it's also coming on the heels of just this morning the European Union Parliament passing the first

[00:22:39] definitive regulations about AI. Now basically I call it definitive but it's a relative term all

[00:22:45] this new law does is set up certain classifications for AI technology the most dangerous one calling it

[00:22:52] unacceptable that will be the official label for some AI considers to be unacceptable and that

[00:22:57] stuff that's labeled unacceptable will be banned immediately in the EU there were other classifications

[00:23:03] as well so of course as usual our legislative bodies our government bodies be they here in the

[00:23:09] United States or in Europe are a little bit behind if not a lot behind the eight ball on this one

[00:23:13] but still there is clearly some concern now in this story at IBM even though again I don't think

[00:23:19] it's going to be the number one story in America today on our news websites and in the major regime

[00:23:23] news media stations but it should be it should be because this is a very new story it's not just

[00:23:29] the usual political stuff today it is something that we all need to discuss and if IBM is doing it

[00:23:35] then you know so many other companies will as well I'm Jake Novak thanks for listening

[00:23:39] we'll have to hold it there please remember this episode presents the personal opinions of these

[00:23:48] individuals and should not be viewed as investment advice thank you to Scott Stantis

[00:23:53] Ilya Shapiro Sarah Rumpf Simpson Garfinkle and Jake Novak for their work and more in real time

[00:24:00] please visit centerclip.com this show has been produced in collaboration with cross-check media

[00:24:06] management cross-check redefines family office services with a distinctive blend of financial

[00:24:12] expertise media innovation and alternative investments one topic at a time leaders on both sides

[00:24:18] always under five minutes that is elevating discourse again centerclip.com for more throughout the

[00:24:24] week we'll be back next week this has been the weekly money clip

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