The main headlines that the global financial media paid attention to last night and this morning include:

US inflation has cooled down for the first time in six months, giving US Federal Reserve officials who want to cut interest rates this year take a reassurance pill

A measure of America's underlying inflation cooled down for the first time in six months in April. For US Federal Reserve officials seeking to cut interest rates starting this year, this is certainly a small step in the right direction.

The so-called core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.3% from March, according to official data released on Wednesday. Previously, the indicator had exceeded expectations three times in a row, raising concerns that inflation had become entrenched. Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics also showed that the year-on-year increase fell to its lowest level in three years.

The Federal Reserve is trying to break up price pressure by weakening demand across the economy. Another report released on Wednesday showed that retail sales stagnated in April, as high borrowing costs and rising residents' debt prompted consumers to be more cautious.

Although these data may give the Fed some hope that inflation is returning to a downward trend, officials will still want to see more data to build the confidence needed to start considering interest rate cuts. Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the Federal Reserve needs patience to let restrictive policies work. Some policymakers don't think interest rates will be cut this year at all.

ESG fund liquidations sweep the US ETF market

The ESG-focused US exchange-traded fund (ETF) market is struggling.

Senior ESG analyst Shaheen Contractor said that so far, at least 27 ETFs classified as meeting environmental, social and governance principles (ESG) have been liquidated this year. In comparison, there were only 36 cases last year.

The outlook is bleak. The contractor said this trend is likely to continue, particularly if the Republican leadership's strong opposition to the investment strategy heats up.

“Complex topics that are difficult to raise capital are at greatest risk,” she said.

Against the backdrop of increased fund closures, the Americas launched only two ESG ETFs this year, the fewest since tracking this data began about five years ago. The contractor said the number of fund offerings declined from a peak of 124 throughout 2021.

Goldman Sachs enters the high-rating market for the third time since March this year

A subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (Goldman Sachs Group Inc.) began selling investment-grade bonds for the second time in the past two months on Wednesday. Previously, the company had not issued bonds for five consecutive years.

Goldman Sachs Bank USA (Goldman Sachs Bank USA) is promoting fixed-variable interest notes and variable interest rate notes, according to a source familiar with the matter. The company sold $3 billion of these bonds in March, the first bond sale since 2019.

The person, who asked not to be named, said that the yield on the fixed-floating portion of the latest deal is probably 0.9 percentage points higher than US Treasury bonds because they are not authorized to talk about it. The reporter was unable to immediately reach the representative of Goldman Sachs (Goldman Sachs) responsible for this bond issuance for comment.

Federal Reserve official Kashkari: Interest rates may need to stay at current levels for a while longer

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Governor Neel Kashkari reiterated that the Federal Reserve may need to keep interest rates at current levels for some more time. He also questioned how much the interest rate level has constrained the US economy.

Kashkari said at an event in Bismarck, North Dakota on Wednesday: “The biggest uncertainty in my opinion is how much downward pressure monetary policy is putting on the economy. This is an unknown, and we don't know for sure. This tells me we may need to stay here a little longer until we figure out where the underlying inflation is going before drawing a conclusion.”

The Minneapolis Federal Reserve Governor said last week that the Federal Reserve may keep interest rates unchanged “for a longer period of time.” Since July of last year, the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates unchanged at the current level, which is currently at a 23-year high.

Federal Reserve officials have postponed expectations for the timing of the first rate cut. Against the backdrop of disappointing inflation data, they emphasized the need to keep borrowing costs high for a longer period of time. Price increases excluding food and energy fell for the first time in six months in April, according to the latest data released on Wednesday.

Disney CEO Egg: Disney is “drastically” cutting investment in traditional TV

Disney CEO Bob Iger (Bob Iger) said the media giant plans to “drastically” reduce investment in the cable TV sector to make its streaming division a continuously profitable division.

Last summer, Eiger said he would take a “comprehensive” review of the entertainment giant's traditional TV assets, hinting at the possibility of adopting strategic choices including sales.

Eiger said on Wednesday that after analysis, the company determined that cable TV “will not become a growing business, but it may become an important part of our ability to attract consumers.

CEO Qiaosui warns investors not to be too confident in the face of a changing geopolitical environment

Bar Dea said at the Qatar Economic Forum that at a time of global tension, Qiaoshui has been working with clients to stress test their portfolios.

“I think the biggest mistake investors make is being overconfident,” he said at a conference in Doha. “My advice to investors is not to use the strategies of the past 10 to 15 years in the next 10 to 15 years.”

Bridgewater CEO Nir Bar Dea said investors need to build resilient portfolios given the current geopolitical tension affecting the global market.

Bar Dea was named the sole CEO of Bridgewater last year and quickly launched an ambitious strategy aimed at increasing the company's profitability by limiting the size of flagship funds, investing more capital and talent into artificial intelligence, and expanding in Asia and the stock market.