Point of View: The Federal Reserve Has Over-Eased, with a 65% Chance of Stagflation in the United States

**March 16 — ByteDance has put its global rollout of the AI video generator Seedance 2.0 on hold following copyright disputes with major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms, per The Information.** Last month, multiple U.S. studios—including Disney—sent legal threats. ByteDance noted it would take steps to stop unauthorized use of Seedance 2.0 from infringing intellectual property. Disney specifically sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging the company trained and powered Seedance 2.0 on Disney characters without authorization. The studio claimed ByteDance loaded the model with a pirated library of copyrighted characters from franchises like *Star Wars* and Marvel, passing them off as public domain content. ByteDance had initially planned to launch Seedance 2.0 globally in mid-March, but those plans are now on hold. The company’s legal team is investigating potential legal issues, while engineers are adding extra safeguards to prevent the model from generati

On March 16, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the Tether AI team plans to release a "truly groundbreaking achievement" later this week.

On March 16, Bitget market data shows Hong Kong stocks opened higher, with the OpenClaw sector leading gains. Meituan (02513.HK) rose 2.83% and MINIMAX-WP (00100.HK) gained 1.78%, tracking advances in JD.com, Tencent and other peers.

On March 16th, Citigroup, PwC and Solana jointly wrapped up a trade finance tokenization proof of concept (PoC). Suppliers can now issue tokenized payment commitments, sell them at a discount to banks, and settle instantly—no months of waiting. This move by traditional financial giants exploring real-world assets (RWAs) on Solana sends another clear signal.

**Trump TRUMP Token Holder Luncheon: Top Holder Reaches 1.533B Points (March 16 Update)** As of March 16, the leading holder of the Trump TRUMP token for the upcoming holder luncheon is Chinese username "Little x," with a current score of 1.533 billion points. The score rises by roughly 2.2 million points per hour—equivalent to 2.2 million TRUMP tokens, valued at approximately $9 million based on the token’s current $4.1 price. **Eligibility Thresholds (March 16):** - Top 29 holders (VIP perks: reception + champagne toast + dinner with Trump): 1.5 million points minimum - Top 297 holders (Mar-a-Lago luncheon invite): Just 31 points **Scoring Rules:** - Hold TRUMP in Solana/Robinhood wallets: 1 point per token, per hour - Buy Trump sneakers, watches, or fragrances: 10 points per $1 spent (one-time bonus at checkout; no ongoing points) **Event Background:** Trump previously announced the holder luncheon, where he will attend alongside 18 "superstars." The top 297

On March 16, Moody’s Analytics said in a report that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to hold interest rates steady this week and could lift them to 1% around mid-year. The report noted the Middle East conflict has raised risks of renewed inflation acceleration, but uncertainty from the conflict will likely keep the BOJ on hold temporarily. A further weakening of the yen, it added, might prompt the BOJ to hike rates later this year. However, slowing wage growth and a lack of stable real economic data make it hard to justify a more aggressive rate path above 1%.