Key Takeaways
- December inflation showed 2.7% annual rise, with elevated grocery prices but moderating overall.
- Microsoft committed to funding AI data center expansion without taxpayer subsidies due to community pushback.
- US greenhouse gas emissions increased 2.4% in 2025, driven by heating demand and data center power.
- Anthropic launched Cowork, an agentic AI tool for non-technical users, creating competition for Microsoft Copilot.
Deep Dive
- December inflation rose 2.7% annually and 0.3% monthly, indicating slowing but still elevated price growth.
- Groceries, particularly beef, saw significant price jumps, while gas and used cars became cheaper.
- Shelter costs, a major component of the Consumer Price Index, showed potential stabilization after low increases.
- Shelter data in the report remains uncertain due to previous government shutdown data distortions.
- Microsoft announced a five-point plan to address community concerns regarding new data center construction.
- The plan includes the company covering electricity cost increases and replenishing water usage, without relying on taxpayer subsidies.
- Former President Trump's opposition to higher electricity bills for data centers added political pressure.
- Microsoft aims to double its data center footprint in two years, making expansion a significant public affairs issue.
- US greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2.4% in 2025, reversing a two-year decline, according to the Rhodium Group.
- The rise is attributed to colder temperatures increasing heating demand and a surge in electricity consumption from data centers and crypto mining.
- Coal usage by electric utilities rose 13% in 2025, contributing to the emissions increase.
- Solar generation saw a 34% increase in 2025, but this growth was insufficient to offset the overall rise in demand and emissions.
- Anthropic launched Cowork, an agentic AI tool designed for non-technical users to execute multi-step tasks on a computer.
- The tool was developed in approximately 1.5 weeks using Anthropic's own Claude Code.
- Cowork is available at a $200 monthly tier, designed for general computing without coding.
- The introduction of Cowork immediately sparked debate about its potential impact on productivity and employment.
- Anthropic's Cowork tool poses a direct competitive threat to Microsoft's Copilot and smaller startups specializing in single AI functions.
- Anthropic has seen significant enterprise adoption for its AI technology.
- The company recently raised funds, achieving a $183 billion valuation with plans to reach $350 billion.
- Cowork's broad capabilities include tasks like receipt processing and document drafting.
- Tensions escalated with Iran following President Trump's support for protesters, leading to a violent government crackdown, over 12,000 reported deaths, and internet shutdowns.
- Elon Musk's Starlink service became crucial for Iranians seeking outside communication but faced government jamming and tracking, described as 'electronic warfare'.
- JPMorgan Chase CFO Jeremy Barnum indicated the bank is planning for a potential 10% cap on credit card interest rates, proposed by President Trump.
- JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon addressed an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, emphasizing the importance of Fed independence.