💵 Japan Investigates North Korean "Supernotes"

Japan is studying "supernotes," high-quality counterfeit US dollars believed made by North Korea's Bureau 39. These notes were first found in Manila in 1989 and have circulated worldwide.

The counterfeits use cotton and linen paper, optically variable inks, and precise microprinting, letting them evade bank and casino detection.

Chen Chang "Wilson" Liu laundered nearly $2 million through Las Vegas casinos by exchanging fake bills for real currency.

✅@futures

📈 The Fed says AI is contributing to inflation

The Federal Reserve's June FOMC minutes explicitly cite AI-related price pressures, alongside tariffs, as one of the factors pushing up core goods inflation.

The Fed also signaled that it expects interest rates to remain elevated, with no cuts projected until Q2 2027.

At the same time, some policymakers noted that AI could eventually reduce inflation through higher productivity, but said those benefits will take time to appear.
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The reason is straightforward. The AI boom is driving demand for chips, memory, electricity, and data center construction, raising costs across the supply chain before any productivity gains have fully materialized.
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AI may lower inflation in the long run. For now, the Fed says it is adding to it.

✅@futures