🌎 Rates in the bank

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Here’s what you need to know

Earnings from big banks in the US will show how high interest rates are affecting consumers. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all report today, and will probably keep churning a profit, at least more so than their smaller counterparts.

The US and Qatar froze $6 billion in oil funds intended for Iran as part of a prisoner swap. The decision comes amid concern that Iran’s government knew Hamas would attack Israel, but not to what extent or when.

A cost-of-living adjustment will be added to Social Security payments in the US. A 3.2% increase—about $54 a month for most recipients—is on deck for tens of millions of older Americans come January. That won’t do much to set off rising healthcare costs (more on the cost of living below).

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC has plans to make more advanced semiconductors at a second plant in Japan. The endeavor is reportedly a 2 trillion yen ($13.3 billion) investment that Japan is thinking about subsidizing.

Ecuador’s presidential runoff is on Sunday. Center-right banana business heir Daniel Noboa will face off with Luisa González, handpicked by the former leftist president, in a race that’s been mired in violence.

The good and bad news about the latest US inflation data

September’s consumer price index was up 0.4% in the US compared to the month before, and 3.7% year over year (the same as last month). That’s all fine and good, and might even prompt the Federal Reserve to keep rates unchanged at its next meeting as the US heads toward disinflation.

The bad news is where CPI increased, and by how much. The shelter index—mostly composed of rental costs—increased 7.2% over the last year.

But it’s not that bad. As Quartz’s Grete Suarez and Clarisa Diaz point out, data suggests that the soaring shelter index in the September consumer price report may well just be an anomaly.

The IRS and Microsoft are fighting

The US Internal Revenue Service and Microsoft have a bit of a disagreement… to the tune of billions of dollars.

$28.9 billion: Amount in back taxes the IRS claims Microsoft owes

$10 billion: Amount by which Microsoft claims the back tax calculations are off

The IRS has been auditing Microsoft since 2012 to determine whether there have been instances where the company unlawfully circumvented the US tax rate and moved profits to tax havens. Microsoft has rejected those claims, and its tax executive insisted that the company has changed its corporate structure in such a way that the IRS’s proposed adjustment is only “relevant to the past but not to our current practices.” Quartz’s Ananya Bhattacharya breaks down the argument.

Taylor Swift’s movie is already breaking records

Like the concert it depicts, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie broke Ticketmaster with roaring demand, and AMC announced the film has already shattered the US theater chain’s records with over $100 million in global presales. Like we said yesterday: It’s the Taylor Swift economy, and we’re all just living in it.

Will Taylor add “blockbuster hit” to her staggering list of accolades? That depends whether the highest grossing movies of this year can fend off Eras at the box office.

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Surprising discoveries

Costco sells half of the world’s cashews. It also sells 700% more hot dogs each year than all Major League Baseball stadiums combined, but who’s counting?

Climate change has a hefty hourly rate. Damage caused by extreme weather has cost $16 million every 60 minutes for the past two decades.

Gen Z isn’t being swayed by the flip phone resurgence. IPhones are the Apple of their eyes.

Some female frogs would literally die rather than deal with unwanted advances from males. Well, feign death, anyway.

Lasers could be used to build roads on the Moon. We’d like to know what kind of vehicles would traverse them.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, cashew cookies, and Moon cars to [email protected]. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.