September Fed meeting kicks off in Washington, Trump files $15B lawsuit against the New York Times.

Market Trends & Economic Indicators - US stock futures indicate a higher open, extending record runs, driven by better-than-expected retail sales growth of 061% in August [1] - Bank of America's fund manager survey shows the most bullish sentiment since February, with equity allocations at seven-month highs and cash balances at 39%, below the 4% threshold [3][4] - A record 58% of respondents in the fund manager survey say stocks are overvalued, and 77% expect stagflation [5][6] - August retail sales increased 06% month-over-month, exceeding expectations, with clothing and clothing accessories increasing about 1% and non-store retailers increasing about 2% [8][9][10] Federal Reserve & Monetary Policy - The Federal Reserve is kicking off its two-day policy meeting, widely expected to result in a 25 basis point rate cut [1][2] - The market is focused on the potential for further rate cuts and how the Fed perceives weakness in the labor market juxtaposed with inflation [2][3] Company Specific News - Oracle's shares are extending gains amid news of its involvement in a deal for TikTok [1] - President Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, exceeding the newspaper's market capitalization of approximately $96 billion [15][17] - Warner Brothers Discovery shares are taking a hit after TD Cowan downgraded the stock to hold, with a potential bid at $20 per share but a risk of shares hitting $11 to $12 if the bid falls through [17][18] - Disney is acquiring a 2% equity stake in Webtune, with Webtune's shares surging 32% [18][20] AI & Technology - Alphabet reached a record high $3 trillion market cap, reflecting the market's appreciation of the AI opportunity [23] - AI models are improving faster than Moore's Law, potentially adding $5 trillion of economic value by making knowledge workers 10% more productive [30][25] - Microsoft took out 9000 people from their cost structure and are still growing at high or mid-teens growth rate and their cloud business is accelerating [35]