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Good morning readers. The Federal Reserve, as anticipated, maintained interest rates on Wednesday and hinted at multiple cuts later this year. The decision, following a two-day meeting, holds the overnight borrowing rate between 5.25% to 5.5%, unchanged since July 2023. Along with the decision, Fed officials announced three quarter-percentage point cuts by the end of the year, which would be the first set of reductions since the early days of the pandemic. Markets responded positively to the news, with GDP forecasts revised upwards and all three major indexes finishing with record closing highs. Overall, the Fed seems cautious but ready to make moves when needed.

Let’s jump into today’s storylines.

In today’s digest:

• Sotheby’s is betting big on sports auctions

• Headline Hustle: Intel is granted $8.5 billion in funding to grow chip manufacturing in the U.S., companies can no longer purchase Americans’ private data, Ireland’s Prime Minister steps down unexpectedly

• The 14-year legal case against Julian Assange might come to an end soon

• Pulse Points: What’s Trending

SPORTS

Sotheby’s is going all in on sports offerings

In a world where sneakers can be as coveted as a Van Gogh, Sotheby’s is sprinting into the lucrative league of sports memorabilia with the agility of a seasoned athlete. The auction house announced on Wednesday it’s launching its first “Sports Week”, an event that will include six live and online auctions with items from some of the biggest names in sports history.

Stepping up its game

In response to a surge in demand, partly spiked by pandemic-era pastimes and blockbuster documentaries like The Last Dance, Sotheby's is diving deep into the sports arena. The auction house's move to host six live and online auctions is a testament to its agility in tapping into new collecting communities, bridging the gap between the traditional art collector and the modern sports enthusiast.

But this demand is not just about owning a piece of sports history; it’s about connection to the legends of the game. Sotheby’s reports a noticeable youth infusion within its bidding halls, with half of these sports memorabilia enthusiasts being newcomers to the auction scene. This younger crowd, aged between 20 to 40, represents a big shift in the collector base, driving the company to establish collaborations with giants like the NBA and host sales that have already seen record-smashing figures.

To put things into context, earlier this year the auction house sold a set of six individual Air Jordan sneakers worm by MJ in the games of all six of his NBA Finals championships, for $8 million. That’s a lot of dough for some sneakers.

Among the treasures up for grabs are:

• A pair of Muhammad Ali’s shorts from his “Thrilla in Manilla” match in 1975, considered to be one of the greatest boxing matches in history. The shorts are expected to sell anywhere from $4 million to $6 million.

• A Kobe Bryant jersey from Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals, fetching upwards of $2.5 million.

• 50 pairs of shoes worn by some of the NBA’s greats, such as: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

Looking ahead…as Sotheby’s laces up for what promises to be a historic “sports week”, the auction house estimates the entire sports collection will fetch more than $12 million in the end.

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IN THE KNOW

Headline Hustle

🖥️ Intel is granted $8.5 billion in CHIPS Act grant to boost chip manufacturing in the U.S. The White House has announced that Intel will receive up to $8.5 billion in funding from the CHIPS Act, part of a push by the Biden administration to bolster semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. An additional $11 billion in loans from the CHIPS and Science Act is also possible. This investment aims to maintain U.S. leadership in semiconductor innovation. Despite challenges, Intel's plans for fabs and research centers across multiple states signal a commitment to revitalizing domestic chip production.

🚫 U.S. adversaries can no longer purchase Americans’ private data. Bipartisan leaders of a House committee overseeing interstate and foreign commerce celebrated the approval of a bill aimed at safeguarding Americans' private data from adversaries like China, Iran, and Russia. Representatives and ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, championed the legislation, which passed unanimously, signaling a firm stance on national security and individual privacy. The bill prohibits data brokers from selling sensitive information to designated foreign adversaries, with penalties exceeding $50,000 per violation, bolstering earlier efforts to strengthen data protection laws.

🇮🇪 Ireland’s Prime Minister resigns in surprise move. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's unexpected resignation has set the stage for a leadership change ahead of looming elections. Citing personal and political reasons, Varadkar acknowledged his party's struggle in the polls and his own difficulty in connecting with voters. Despite successes in handling Brexit and the pandemic, his tenure fell short of electoral promise. With opposition Sinn Féin's rising influence reshaping Ireland's political landscape, Varadkar's departure marks a pivotal moment as Ireland prepares for a new chapter in governance.

EUROPE

The case against Julian Assange might be nearing an end

The U.S. Justice Department is mulling over a deal that could turn the page for Julian Assange, the man who shook the world with WikiLeaks.

How’d he get here?

Assange is currently fighting a battle with the British government to avoid being extradited to the United States for leaking classified and confidential U.S military records in 2010. A U.K. court is now deciding whether or not to accept a last-ditch appeal by the 52-year-old.

Talks between Justice Department officials and Assange’s lawyers around what a plea deal would look like have already begun, although there’s been no indication that the department would take a deal. Talks come as the WikiLeaks founder has been behind bars for the last five years. U.S. prosecutors also aren’t convinced he’d serve more time in prison if convicted in the states.

Any deal would need approval from the highest levels of the Justice Department.

• If accepted, Assange could plead remotely to a misdemeanor offense in the U.S., leveraging his time served in a London prison towards any potential sentence.

• If the court were to rule against him, the U.S. would have 28 days to pick him up and bring him to the U.S. to face trial.

Big picture: Stella Assange, Julian Assange's wife, voiced concerns about his declining mental and physical health during his imprisonment, fearing he wouldn't receive a fair trial in the U.S. due to his condition. She highlighted the risk to his life and emphasized his absence from a recent hearing due to illness.

SNIPPETS

Pulse Points

• Reddit set its IPO price at $34 per share, the highest anticipated value. The company goes public today under ticker symbol RDDT.

• Meta Platforms, Microsoft, X, Spotify, and Match Group have filed legal challenges against Apple's app store policies, disputing its compliance with a court order to permit alternative payment methods.

• Neuralink, Elon Musk's startup, demonstrated a brain implant allowing a patient to move a mouse and play chess on a computer in a live video on Wednesday.

• Three months into his tenure, Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley introduced a plan to address overpayments by ending the full clawback of benefits for non-responsive recipients, responding to complaints from beneficiaries asked to repay excess amounts.

• H&R Block filed a lawsuit against the US Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to challenge the agency's allegations of misleading consumers about its free tax-filing services.

• Apollo Global Management offered $11 billion to buy Paramount Global’s film and TV studio, as per sources familiar with the matter.

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