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Uber’s (UBER) “food as medicine” service is signed, sealed, and soon to be delivered.
The new program is not just about adding groceries and cold medicine to delivery drivers’ shopping lists. Uber Health will work directly with healthcare providers to prescribe patients healthy food in order to prevent higher medical costs in the future.
US stocks finished higher Thursday as Wall Street continued to digest the Fed’s hawkish pause
• Retail sales in the US unexpectedly rose 0.3% in May. This beat forecasts of a 0.1% decline and added to the 0.4% increase the month prior. Despite high interest rates and inflation, the data signals consumer spending remains resilient.
• Disney (DIS) and Pixar's latest film, Elemental, is being released in theaters amid pressure on Disney to prove it hasn't lost its touch in animation. Disney has struggled to generate ticket sales for its animated films in recent years, while NBCUniversal’s (CMCSA) Illumination and DreamWorks Animation have dominated the box office with hits like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Minions: The Rise of Gru.
• The European Central Bank raised its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.5% in an attempt to bring down record-high inflation across the region. The latest inflation reading showed prices cooling down at a faster-than-expected pace, with headline inflation coming in at 6.1% in May and core inflation coming in at 5.3%. However, poor economic performance in the region may limit the ECB's ability to increase rates further.
What to be on the lookout for today
• Speeches from two members of the Federal Reserve, Chris Waller and James Bullard, will cap off the week. Their comments will give further context to the Fed’s recent decision to pause rate hikes in June, and investors will look for early clues as to the central bank’s plans for July.
Here are 5 habits that could help you achieve financial freedom.
1. Conquer mental barriers. Explore your beliefs about money and work. This may mean digging deep and reflecting on your relationship with concepts like worth, scarcity, and abundance.
2. Understand financial literacy. This just means having competence or knowledge in personal finance. Understand debt, figure out how to budget, and create a plan for saving, spending, earning, borrowing, investing, and protecting your money. Stay on top of business news and market moves to make empowered decisions informed by what’s happening in the world. We offer a free resource called On the Money, which curates these types of news stories for your easy consumption.
3. Live within your means. Borrowing money makes sense when it advances your goals, but buying things you can’t afford will take you farther from financial freedom, ratcheting up bad debt.
4. Reduce bad debt. Debt not only reduces your overall net worth by the amount you’ve got in loans or lines of credit outstanding but also increases your monthly expenses. Focus on expediting your payment of high-interest sources like credit cards and student loans.
5. Maximize your savings. Consider opening and maintaining a high-yield savings account, which will allow you to earn money on top of your money. Here at SoFi, our Checking & Savings account currently offers up to 4.30% APY.
Today’s top stories
Gen Z is drinking less than previous generations — and it could be a problem for concert venues. Is Gen Z drinking less alcohol, or just sick of paying $17 for a beer price at concerts? Either way, it could change the way you experience live events. Read more >> No more “lights” or “cameras” — now it’s just, “AI! Action!” This startup just raised $90 million from the likes of NVIDIA (NVDA) and GV (GOOGL) to create realistic avatars to narrate and star in marketing videos. But some already want to yell, “Cut!” Read more >> Paying down debt is a long process, and it is not easy to stay motivated. Here are 15 tips to help set yourself up for success. With some smart strategies to change your money mindset, you’ll find that paying down debt becomes easier as you learn better money management. Read more >>Not-so-breaking news
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Live Nation (LYV) agreed to make its pricing more transparent following federal pressure. The owner of Ticketmaster will now show all fees in the initial price rather than during the checkout process.
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Fast casual Mediterranean restaurant Cava (CAVA) just went public, selling 14.4 million shares in its market debut and raising almost $318 million. This could break the drought of US IPOs that has persisted over the past 18 months.
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The National Music Publishers' Association is suing Twitter for $250 million over copyright infringement. The suit represents 17 musical artists who claim their music was posted to the site without permission.
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Tesla’s (TSLA) stock just ended its record streak after experiencing 13 straight days of gains. During, the EV stock increased by over 40% and added nearly $240 billion to its market cap.
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Petco (WOOF) is collaborating with Snoop Dogg for a new pet-care campaign. The collaboration will also include a shoppable list of toys, treats, and supplies called Petco Picks by Snoop.
Financial planner tip of the day
“Fees can affect the upfront and overall cost of both personal and business loans, so it’s a good idea to be clear on what you’re paying. Some of the more common fees you might see with both types of loans include origination, application, packaging, and underwriting fees, and late payment and prepayment penalties.”
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi