Current State of the US Economy

A potentially K-shaped economy creates dilemmas for the Fed by Vivekanand Jayakumar, The Hill - September 12, 2025
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5499218-ai-revolution-job-market/ 

Sorry, Inflation Still Lives
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/inflation-consumer-price-index-u-s-economy-tariffs-federal-reserve-rate-cuts-8289d9b5
Consumer prices in August show a Fed rate cut isn’t an easy call.

The Job Market Is Hell
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/job-market-hell-115900392.html
Young people are using ChatGPT to write their applications; HR is using AI to read them; no one is getting hired. 

IBM and the Quantum Computing Race

Good Old IBM Is Leading the Way in the Race for ‘Quantum Advantage’
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ibm-quantum-computer-b443bf5c
IBM is racing Google, Amazon, Microsoft and a handful of startups to build the world’s first viable quantum computer. 

Too Many Rules

Does Society Have Too Many Rules?
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions/does-society-have-too-many-rules
When regular people seem burdened by bureaucracy, and the powerful act as they choose, it’s worth asking whether we’ve forgotten what makes rules effective. 

What Will Happen When the AI Bubble Bursts?

What if the $3trn AI investment boom goes wrong?
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/09/11/what-if-the-3trn-ai-investment-boom-goes-wrong
Even if the technology achieves its potential, plenty of people will lose their shirts.
 
What if the AI stock market blows up?
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/09/07/what-if-the-ai-stockmarket-blows-up 

Oracle surge pours fuel on fiery AI bubble debate
https://www.reuters.com/technology/oracle-surge-pours-fuel-fiery-ai-bubble-debate-2025-09-11

Demographics - No Need for Panic

Don’t panic about the global fertility crash
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/09/11/dont-panic-about-the-global-fertility-crash
A world with fewer people would not be all bad.
 
Humanity will shrink, far sooner than you think
https://www.economist.com/interactive/briefing/2025/09/11/humanity-will-shrink-far-sooner-than-you-think
Demography sneaks up on you.

A contracting population need not be a catastrophe
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/09/11/a-contracting-population-need-not-be-a-catastrophe
The economics of a shrinking world. 

Could AI nursing robots help health care staffing shortages?
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/12/tech/taiwan-nursing-robots-nurabot-foxconn-nvidia-hnk-spc

Related:

https://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-depopulation-panic.html 

AI Agents

FT Film: Agentic AI - how bots came for our workflows and drudgery
https://youtu.be/e85AxYW0Qyk 

AI agents are coming for your privacy, warns Meredith Whittaker
https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2025/09/09/ai-agents-are-coming-for-your-privacy-warns-meredith-whittaker
The Signal Foundation’s president worries they will also blunt competition and undermine cyber-security.

Elevated Inflation is Still a Problem

This morning’s CPI data release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS):
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf
 
Rise in U.S. Inflation Likely to Keep Fed Cautious on Pace of Rate Cuts
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/business/cpi-inflation-fed-rate-cuts.html
The central bank is likely to lower borrowing costs at its meeting next week amid budding concerns about the labor market. 

Health Insurance Costs for Businesses to Rise by Most in 15 Years

https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/health-insurance-costs-rise-6cc1b934
Insurers say that the rising premiums are driven by growing healthcare costs.

Inflation Erased U.S. Income Gains Last Year
https://www.wsj.com/economy/consumers/census-income-insurance-poverty-2024-31d82ad0
High-income households fared better than others, while women lost ground to men, Census Bureau says.