11AM Hour: FTC Investigates AI Companies, Nike Earnings on Deck & Former Fed Vice Chair Alan Blinder 10/1/26

Markets face converging risks this week — an FTC AI-safety probe, a close Fed hold/hike call, and record oil shipping costs — while Micron and Nike earnings test AI-chip and consumer-brand narratives.

• FTC investigates AI giants: The FTC is probing OpenAI and Anthropic over alleged deceptive/unfair practices on AI safety; former chief technologist Neil Chilson says it's a legitimate case-by-case application of existing consumer-protection law, not new regulation.
• Blinder backs an October hold: Former Fed Vice Chair Alan Blinder says he'd hold rates in October given a slight downward trend in core inflation and the Fed's historical reluctance to move right before elections, with December as the next likely window.

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