They're Not Going to Jackson

                                                           

The most important message coming out of this year's Federal Reserve powwow in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is that it will not be coming out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.   *View in browser   August 23, 2021   Today's Top Stories From the Breitbart News Desk The most important message coming out of this year's Federal Reserve powwow in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is that it will not be coming out of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which is officially the host of the annual monetary policy conference, announced on Monday that the conference was going to be all virtual. Teton County, where Jackson is situated, has recently gone into the high-risk category for covid infection. There were only an average of 16 cases per day reported in Teton recently, but that is a 76 percent increase from the average two weeks ago. Even fully vaccinated people are supposed to wear masks, which is not really a great garb for communicating intricacies of monetary policy during half-hour speeches. This is a microcosm of what is happening all across the country. Conventions are being canceled or made virtual. Airline and hotel reservations are being canceled. Dinner reservations are suddenly easier to come by. Convention centers, which pick up business in the fall, are finding events called off. For many urban economies across the country, these crucial sources of income are drying up. The hand-off from summer leisure travel to autumn business travel is almost certain to be fumbled. The resurgent virus showed up first in the spending data for the south but is now spreading across the country. The good news is that the rate of Delta variant infections is likely cresting in the south, according to Dr. Scott Gottlieb. But that means that the rest of the country has weeks or months to go. Businesses that have pushed their office reopenings from September until October will likely have to announce further delays. As long as infections keep rising, there will not be a full reopening. While the reality of the Delta variant has already hit consumer confidence and retail spending, the broader implications likely have not. Namely, only a small share of the public and approximately zero of the punditry has acknowledged the risk that the Delta variant surge may not be the last but the first. There are many variants, and there will be many more. And there does not appear to be any plan—for businesses, for the economy, for society—for what will happen if the future holds a nearly endless series of covid tides. The stock market, in particular, is priced for covid fading into the shadows of memory. If that doesn't happen, a lot of the more aggressive valuations of the summer of 2021 will look foolish. – Alex Marlow & John Carney Breitbart News Network     TOP STORY   Biden's K-Shaped Housing Market: Million Dollar Home Sales Soar, Lower Price Home Sales Crash It is a tale of two housing markets. Sales of previously owned homes worth more than one million dollars were up nearly 60 percent annually in July, while sales of homes worth a quarter of that or less were down by around 30 percent, data from the National Association of Realtors showed Monday. Overall sales of existing homes unexpectedly climbed in July, defying expectations for a slight downturn after gains in June. Homebuilder sentiment fell to a 13-month low in July and new home sales were weaker than expected, which set the stage for what was expected to be a softening in the market for previously owned homes. There was weakness in the housing market in July—but only in the lower-priced end. Sales of home priced under $100,000 were down 31 percent compared with a year ago. Home priced between $100,000 and $250,000 declined by 38 percent. Together those two categories made up around 28.4 percent of houses sold in the month. [Click here for more]   IN OTHER STORIES... The Atlantic: Amazon Has Killed the Name Alexa for Humanity A recent article from the Atlantic outlines how the name Alexa has become so synonymous with Amazon's personal assistant that the number of children being named Alexa is plummeting. The Atlantic reports in an article titled "Amazon Killed the Name Alexa," that following the release of Amazon's voice assistant device Alexa, the popularity of the name Alexa for newbord babies has dropped drastically. According to the website Namerology, Alexa is unique in being one of the sharpest drops in popularity in baby names in recent times. [Click here for more]   Poll: Majority Say U.S. Headed in the Wrong Direction A majority of U.S. voters believe the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction, a Reuters/Ipsos survey released this week found. The survey asked respondents, "Generally speaking, would you say things in this country are heading in the right direction, or are they off on the... [Click here for more]   Dr. Scott Gottlieb says the delta variant-fueled Covid surge in the American South has peaked Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday he believes the delta variant-driven Covid surge that slammed the American South has reached a top. "I thought there was an indication the South was peaking, and I think it's pretty clear right now the South has peaked," the former Food and Drug Administration... [Click here for more] FOLLOW   Did you receive this email from a friend? Sign up to receive Breitbart Business Digest. T ©2021 Breitbart News 149 S. 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