Luke Vargas

We begin in Australia, where a landmark social media ban for children under the age of 16 is now in effect, with governments around the world keeping a close eye on how it'll work in practice.

Politicians, parents, and mental health experts have been calling for the bans, as more studies have shown that social media can worsen feelings of anxiety and depression.

Here was Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaking alongside Communications Minister Annika Wells in Sydney.

Children younger than 16 will now be banned by law from holding accounts on platforms including Facebook X and TikTok, with social media companies facing fines of more than $30 million if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts.

Meta was the first tech giant to react.

It began deactivating accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads ahead of the ban last week.

At the same time, teenagers have argued that the ban hurts free speech, with Australia's high court agreeing to hear a challenge to the ban.

Tech companies have made the same argument.

And as tech reporter Sam Schechner explained in our latest Sunday episode, these types of bans present a real threat to their future profits.

And it seems that big tech could be facing a seismic shift now with other countries, including Malaysia, Denmark and Norway, looking to implement similar bans.

And U.S.

states like Florida and California are also moving to curtail young people's access to social media.

For more on Australia's social media ban, check out the latest Sunday episode in your podcast feed.

We've also left a link to it in our show notes.

Investors are pricing in an almost 90 percent chance that the Fed will lower interest rates later today.

Chair Jerome Powell has made his own cutting intentions pretty clear.

But as Journal deputy finance editor Quinton Webb is here to discuss, there is a notable lack of consensus among the bank's policymakers about which way the central bank should be heading.

Quinton, you've pulled together recent comments by all 12 officials who will be weighing in later today.

And you sort of sorted them into camps.

Tell us what you found.