Friday,
June 7, 2024
Market recap
Dow Jones
38,886.17
+78.84 (+0.20%)
S&P 500
5,352.96
-1.07 (-0.02%)
Nasdaq
17,173.12
-14.78 (-0.09%)
Top Story
The US grid can’t handle AI and EVs — but that’s changing
AI data centers and EV adoption could drive electricity demand sky-high, but the White House is working to bring the grid into the 21st century.
US stocks were in a holding pattern on Thursday ahead of today’s jobs report
• There were still some big movers, including a 1.2% pullback in AI heavyweight NVIDIA, and a 4.8% advance from athletic apparel maker Lululemon.
• Shares of GameStop continued their rally, adding a whopping 47.5% after trader “Roaring Kitty” announced his first YouTube livestream in nearly four years.
• In jobs data, U.S. employers announced nearly 64,000 job cuts in May, 1.5% less than in April, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
• Meanwhile, filings for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, reaching 229,000, the second-highest level this year.
What to be on the lookout for today
• The May jobs report and unemployment rate.
• We’ll also get the average hourly earnings for May.
Are you getting paid enough?
Do you know how much your colleagues are making? Your friends in the same industry?
Talking about salaries can be seen as uncouth, but it’s key for knowing if you are paid fairly.
Know your worth
Many factors determine pay, from industry and experience, to location. For example, workers in areas with higher costs of living tend to earn higher wages. Massachusetts, New York, Washington and California are among the states with the highest paychecks, but pay tends to be lower in the South.
To find out if you’re paid fairly, you need to take these factors into account. There are online salary calculators and tools that can help you understand your earnings situation better. Some signs that you might be underpaid is having your workload and responsibilities increase without getting a pay raise.
The national average salary is $63,795, according to the Social Security Administration. But keep in mind that it — by definition — includes ultra-high earners, as well as very low earners.
Today’s top stories
Streaming costs are picking up steamStreaming platforms keep raising prices as they compete on their bottom lines. But for consumers, this means just another category that keeps getting more expensive.
Read more >> The economy may be strong, but America’s middle-class feels differentlyThe divide between strong economic data and many households’ financial situations is weighing on consumer sentiment.
Read more >> Meme stocks and how we got hereHave you ever heard of MOASS? The “Mother of All Short Squeezes?” Maybe not in those terms, but you might remember when GameStop and the term “meme stocks” entered your vocabulary. We revisit some recent history.
Read more >>Other news that caught our eye
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On Wednesday, NVIDIA briefly surpassed Apple as the second-biggest public company in the U.S. by market capitalization and became the third U.S. company to reach a valuation of more than $3 trillion. However, it fell back below that level and behind Apple on Thursday.
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The U.S. trade deficit increased to $74.6 billion in April, the largest in nearly two years, driven by growing imports of vehicles, computers, and industrial supplies.
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The American Airlines flight attendants union rejected an immediate 17% wage increase proposal as negotiations drag on. The flight attendants haven’t received a contract raise since before the pandemic.
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Costco will only sell books during the holiday shopping period starting in January 2025 to save on the labor required to stock them.
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The European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time since 2019.
Financial planner tip of the day
"One of the ways that can help pay off debt expeditiously is to focus on only one debt at a time. If you spread your money out over all of your debt payments, you might not see progress as fast as you want. By focusing on one goal at a time, you may see success sooner — and that motivation could help you keep your debt payoff plan on track."
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi