Top Story
Why do some politicians want a weak dollar?
The U.S. dollar is strong right now, boosted by America’s economy and high interest rates. But not everyone is happy about this.
US stocks fell sharply Wednesday following lackluster earnings from tech giants
• The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite registered their worst sessions since 2022, after Alphabet and Tesla handed in disappointing report cards, sending most of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks sharply lower.
• New home sales fell more than expected in June to their lowest level in seven months, and the 30-year mortgage rate also fell to 6.82% last week, a five-month low.
What to be on the lookout for today
• A first look at second-quarter U.S. GDP growth and initial jobless claims.
• In earnings, American Airlines, Honeywell, Keurig Dr Pepper, Southwest Air, Jeep-parent Stellantis, Royal Caribbean Group, and Unilever will report.
Why consumer spending matters so much right now
It’s GDP day, and by the time this email has hit your inbox, the Commerce Department will likely have published America's economic report card for the second quarter.
SoFi’s Head of Investment Strategy Liz Young Thomas is particularly curious about the data point that looks at the cross section of consumer spending and fixed investments, also known as private domestic demand. Data like that can give us a better idea of how Americans are spending, which is key, as it is making up a whopping 69% of GDP.
“Given that we’ve spent the last three years concerned about global inflation, a slowdown in spending may be what’s necessary to bring supply, demand, and consequently, prices back to a more comfortable level,” she said. Read more >>
Today’s top stories
The U.S. isn’t in a recession, but most Americans feel otherwise3 in 5 consumers believe the U.S. economy is in a downturn, despite official evidence to the contrary. Why the divide?
Read more >> Why are we still using checks?Americans overwhelmingly prefer tap and mobile payments when paying for goods, and retailers have stopped accepting them. But some industries still love checks.
Read more >> Do you have misconceptions about money?Even the most money-savvy person may have some false beliefs about money. Here are 18 common misconceptions, how many did you know about?
Read more >>Other news that caught our eye
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk signaled he wants the EV maker to invest $5 billion in his startup xAI in a poll on X. But the board and shareholders would have to approve.
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Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike blamed a test software bug for the update that crippled roughly 8.5 million Windows devices last week.
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U.S. regulators are investigating Delta Air Lines after the company canceled thousands of flights amid the CrowdStrike outage, far more than other airlines.
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USPS released a new Forever stamp commemorating Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, with several more due in the coming weeks.
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A federal judge struck down a challenge to the White House’s ban on noncompete clauses, confirming the Federal Trade Commission’s power to prohibit anticompetitive practices.
Financial planner tip of the day
"When first setting off to invest in the stock market, an investor might be struck by the seeming barriers to entry. One such barrier is the perception that thousands of dollars may be needed to get started. Enter fractional shares. Instead of purchasing one share of stock at the value for which the stock is currently trading, it is possible to purchase a fraction of one share of a stock. And an investor can do so using whatever dollar amount they have available."
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi