Today's Scoop:

Floating🌤️

Hey friends, hope you had a good weekend. Don’t miss the last Weekly Scoop or our Circular Economy Explained from the weekend.
Here’s what you need to know today…

Big Picture

  1. Consumers are losing optimism.

  2. Household debt is on the rise.

  3. US manufacturing business slumped this month.

The Market: ⬆️+0.3%

S&P 500: 4,136.28
1Mo: -1% | 1Yr: +3% | 5Yr: +53%

The market inched higher today but hasn't done much in the past week.

Consumers are losing optimism. The University of Michigan's consumer survey showed sentiment slumped to a six-month low this month as people worried about inflation and government default. People expect living costs to rise by 4.5% over the next year and for inflation to stay high at 3.2% in 5 years. Inflation expectations are important because they can influence behavior that becomes self-fulfilling.

Household debt is rising, but people are still managing their payments. The New York Federal Reserve’s consumer survey reported total household debt rose to over $17 trillion in March. People have still been managing the debt well. Home foreclosures are still low, and delinquent payment rates are at or below pre-pandemic levels.

Manufacturing slumped this month. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey index plunged in May nearly nine times more than economists expected. New orders and shipments fell as economic activity slowed.

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 Inside Scoop 🤓

Shareholder Activism

Shareholders have the power to pressure corporate executives to change policy through proxy voting. If you're a direct shareholder, you can vote on corporate governance decisions, weighing in on executive pay, mergers, and other strategic changes. Any investor with at least $2,000 of value in a public company can also submit their own proposal for other shareholders to vote on. Typically, these proposals are non-binding, acting more as suggestions to the company that it takes under consideration. You usually only get to vote when you own direct shares. If you own a fund, your vote goes to the fund's asset manager, like BlackRock or Vanguard. Those financial institutions tend to be deciding factors in these voting processes.

If an investor is big enough and well-connected, they might also be able to meet with company executives and pressure them directly.

Action Toolbox 🔨

Use our vetted resources to level up your financial wellness. View & compare more services.

Here are our top priorities for today’s challenges:

  1. Rising Rates & More Layoffs: Make sure you have an emergency savings in cash. Use SaveBetter to make sure your savings account pays you at least 4%.

  2. Higher Living Costs & Tighter Budgets: Make sure to avoid debt by tracking your spending, building savings, and spending carefully. We use Guac to save while spending and get cash back on 200+ brands.

  3. Volatile Markets: Automate your investment contributions to take the emotions out of it. We use M1 to automate banking and investing in one place.

  4. Hidden Opportunities: Down markets are a good time to hunt for bargains if you have the savings. We’ve found a lot of success from Motley Fool’s stock picks.

New rewards! 🎉

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