🐤 Scrolling along

Markets: It was a relatively uneventful day on Wall Street yesterday with none of the major indexes making significant moves. It appears that the Election Day bump has leveled out, leaving investors increasingly focused on the likelihood of another interest rate cut next month. We have more on that in today’s Breakdown.

Show of support: Fans, former teammates, and random social media users reacted with concern and words of encouragement following a cryptic video posted to Instagram by former NBA player Kyle Singler. He said he has been “abused” and feels as if his voice is being “silenced.” Singler wrote: “I feel like I have a certain way about myself and strength and purpose that does not get valued or get treated properly. NBA player Kevin Love was among those who replied, calling on those who know him to “shower him” with “love and support.”

Place your bets: The Federal Reserve has already signaled its willingness to consider interest rate cuts, but now investors are locked in a waiting game as they try to guess when the cuts will come and how big they’ll be. As it stands, bets by traders reveal increased confidence that the central bank will slash another quarter point from the rate next month. In just one day, the probability increased from 56% to 80%, in large part due to the promising trends reflected in the latest inflation report. The Consumer Price index showed a 2.6% annual rate last month.

Keep on truckin’: After a delayed launch and a series of price increases, the Tesla Cybertruck’s launch was marred by concerns about its build quality and reliability. That reputation hasn’t improved after a series of recalls. The most recent (its sixth overall) involves drive unit inverters that can fail and, in at least one case, was blamed for a Cybertruck stalling out. Unlike the recalls that preceded it, this one can’t be remedied with a simple software patch. Instead, Tesla will replace bad inverters with good ones beginning in a few weeks.

International incident: The election of Donald Trump to serve another term in the White House represents a shift in domestic and foreign policy, but there’s plenty of uncertainty in the States and around the world about how a second Trump administration will impact America’s standing on the international stage. But with picks like Marco Rubio and Michael Waltz to serve in top foreign policy advisory roles, there’s a sense that the next four years might not be as isolationist as some feared. Trump’s embrace of tariffs, however, remains a wild card.

When it comes to profiting big off of social media, keeping users engaged is the key. Of course, this raises plenty of other concerns, including addiction and the potentially harmful types of content that often drive user engagement.

The goal, as you’ve noticed if you’ve ever wasted a few hours on TikTok, is to provide an endlessly scrollable experience that never presents a signal that it’s time to go do something else. And now another major platform seems to be embracing this strategy.

YouTube’s gamble

For well over a decade, YouTube has been the go-to destination for people who want to upload their own videos or watch videos uploaded by others. And while there have been some notable updates to the platform over the years, the basic vibe of the site hasn’t changed all that much.

There might be one significant shift on the horizon, however. YouTube has been offering a feature to a test group of Android users for a few months and could soon roll it out on devices far and wide.

Essentially, the change impacts how viewers find new content and might force creators to think of new ways of drawing attention to their videos.

All about the scroll

The new model closely resembles how TikTok users swipe to load a new video.

For its part, YouTube says the goal is to make it easier for viewers to find relevant content while giving creators an opportunity to reach a larger audience. But with a nebulous algorithm controlling the feed, there’s growing concern that creators won’t be able to differentiate themselves with eye-catching thumbnail images anymore.

If the move increases engagement, it could work out for YouTube … but if creators become obsessed with pleasing the algorithm instead of their audiences, we could all lose.

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Speak a New Language

They’ve frequently been portrayed (for comedic effect or otherwise) as unflattering stereotypes in popular culture, but the real-life work of librarians is a lot more crucial than most Hollywood portrayals would lead us to believe.

The crux of the job

There are countless ways librarians can assist people in the community on an individual level, but a comprehensive look at the position will identify three pivotal services the typical librarian provides:

• Cataloging current content: This is the step most often shown in movies, though it’s usually not an accurate representation. Librarians specialize in classifying books and all other sources of content to ensure users can find precisely what they’re looking for.
• Acquiring new content: A library’s inventory isn’t stagnant. Sometimes, outdated content will be removed — but more importantly, librarians play an important role in determining which books and other resources are appropriate for their community.
• Assisting with research: Anyone who has ever crammed for a paper at the last minute knows how important a little help can be. And librarians are equipped with the tools necessary to help anyone dig up the research they need for just about any task.

Beyond the bookshelf

To many individuals in marginalized communities, librarians can provide the first step toward getting the assistance they hadn’t been able to find anywhere else. Some of the services libraries often provide include citizenship classes, English as a second language, legal resources, drug rehab assistance, and certain personal hygiene essentials.

Unfortunately, many people don’t realize exactly how much librarians do … and how many more people they could help if their profession were more widely understood.

Instead of laying off librarians, like a growing number of libraries have been doing lately, perhaps it’s time to give these local heroes the tools they need to save the day.

With all due respect to actors like Kelsey Grammer and Jon Voight who endorsed Donald Trump, it’s safe to say that most of the endorsements that came out of Hollywood during the 2024 election cycle were for Kamala Harris.

But in the end, it didn’t seem to matter. Trump won both the electoral college and popular vote and will be returning to the White House in January despite the best efforts of A-listers.

Stars go dim

There have been a few celebrity-backed efforts that have moved the needle in previous elections, but today’s statements often get lost in the noise of social media or just come across as generic and uninspired.

Another factor is the increased polarization of the American people. While a sliver of undecided voters might be swayed by a compelling celebrity endorsement, the vast majority have already made up their minds.

That means stars are increasingly weighing the consequences of potentially alienating a large portion of their fanbase to issue an endorsement that would, at best, reinforce the opinions of people who were already planning to vote for that candidate.

Hillary’s diagnosis

No, this segment isn’t about the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. Instead, it’s an examination of a new article by writer Hillary Frey. She recalled a time when stars really seemed to be authentic and creative when it came to advocating on behalf of candidates and causes.

There’s no doubt that celebrity endorsements don’t carry as much weight as they once did. I mean, Harris had T-Swift, Beyonce, and Oprah in her corner for crying out loud.

But if they can recapture the raw, passionate energy of “Future Soundtrack for America” — an album featuring multiple independent artists released ahead of the 2004 election — Frey thinks there might still be room for celebrity endorsements in the future.

I saw a snowman in the produce section of my local supermarket.

He was picking his nose.