*as of 8/12; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed that inflation rose by only 0.1% in July and is up 3.4% annually, in line with expectations. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy costs, was up 0.2% monthly and 2.5% annually. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and stock market futures all rose modestly on the news, while Treasury yields fell, which should lead to a drop in mortgage rates.

➨ TAKEAWAY: While the annual inflation numbers are still above the Fed’s 2% target, the low monthly gain was positive news, and CME’s FedWatch tool dropped the odds of a rate hike in September from above 50% to around 40%. Still, it predicts only a 22% chance of no rate hikes by the end of the year, and has the median outcome in the next year being two rate hikes. There will need to be a lot more good inflation news to move the needle towards the possibility of any rate cuts.

🏀 Record-breaking Lakers sale: One of the NBA’s premier franchises, the Los Angeles Lakers, were sold to a group led by VC investor Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, the most ever paid for a sports franchise. It broke the record held by the previous $10 billion Lakers sale just last year, and demonstrates how quickly sports franchise values are appreciating.

🤖 OpenAI tender offer: The AI startup has reportedly bought back $7 billion of shares from employees at the same $852 billion valuation as its last fundraise in March. This could be an indication that a public offering is not coming anytime soon, as there would be little reason to provide liquidity for employees if an IPO was around the corner.

🚀 Erebor fundraise: The banking startup co-founded by Anduril’s Palmer Luckey is reportedly raising a $1.5 billion round at a $8 billion valuation, nearly double its $4.35 billion valuation from earlier this year. The bank caters to tech and AI startups and has crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue.

🏢 CRE borrowing increases: In Q2, commercial mortgage originations rose 12% quarterly and 16% year-over-year, driven by an increase in transaction volume. This increase shows growing lender confidence in the sector, with office and retail lending rebounding strongly after a difficult few years.

🏡 Luxury update: The luxury housing threshold, defined as the 90% percentile home price, fell 2.7% year-over-year, with Austin posting the largest price drop in the country at 9.6%.

🪙 Strategy sells more Bitcoin: The Bitcoin treasury company Strategy, which had long operated with a “never-sell” ethos, sold another $108.6 million worth of Bitcoin. While it represented just 0.2% of its holdings, it represents a bearish sign for the market, as Strategy has also not bought any Bitcoin since June.

Anyone who has used a generative AI model ought to know that they are prone to inaccuracies and hallucinations, especially when they cannot track down accurate information to fulfill a user’s request. You would think that lawyers, for whom accuracy is paramount, would be especially careful when using AI to help with research and writing. Still, more than 1,100 legal filings over the last year have contained AI hallucinations, mostly citing cases that don’t exist to support legal arguments. As the use of AI becomes more commonplace courts are increasingly on alert, and are starting to impose stronger punishments. Ultimately, while every lawyer wants to find the perfect case law for their argument, if it’s coming from AI, it’s probably too good to be true. And every single citation should be checked before submitting it in an official filing.