Today's Scoop:

Hey friends - it’s almost Friday. Look out for our Weekly Scoop tomorrow.

In honor of today’s AI enthusiasm, here’s Beehiiv’s AI-generated image for “A Share Scoops Superhero” 😭

Here’s what you need to know today…

1. Layoffs declined last week.

2. Companies are cutting back on big spending for new equipment.

3. Economic growth might be improving.

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S&P 500: 4,376.31
1Mo: -4% | 1Yr: +4% | 5Yr: +51%

The market sank lower today as the AI enthusiasm of Nvidia’s financial update faded into investor concerns about the economy overheating. Investors are waiting to hear from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve tomorrow to see if he’s worried about inflation.

Fewer workers got laid off again last week. The Labor Department reported initial unemployment claims dropped for the second week to 230,000, roughly in line with pre-pandemic averages. Employment is about as high as economists think possible, and there are still 1.6 available jobs for every unemployed person.

Businesses aren’t investing in as much self-improvement. The Commerce Department reported a slowdown in equipment and technology spending in July. Orders for new aircraft tanked, and businesses invested in fewer computers. Purchases of core machinery rose slightly.

Economic growth might be improving, or at least it’s much better than in the spring. The Atlanta Federal Reserve’s real-time economic growth prediction is tracking to 6% annualized real GDP growth this quarter since last quarter. It was only 2.4% last quarter and 2% in the year's first three months. The pickup in growth has investors worried about a pickup in inflation.

Click to dig in & vote your reaction, see how others feel

• BlackRock’s support for social and sustainability proposals fades [🤓]

• Dollar Tree forced to improve workplace safety amidst severe violations

• CVS Health expands its empire into brand-name biosimilar drugs

• Nvidia is winning the AI race

• Snowflake partners to benefit from the AI boom

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How do shareholders get a say in corporate decisions?

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 as the biggest shareholders in most public companies.

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