Today's Scoop:

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Here’s what you need to know today…

1. People spent more in April after pulling back in March.

2. Optimism is returning to the housing market.

3. The government is still negotiating its debt problem.

S&P 500: 4,109.90
1Mo: -1% | 1Yr: +1% | 5Yr: +52%

The market didn't do much again today, hovering around the same place for the past month. Investors haven’t found much certainty about where the economy is headed.

People spent more in April after pulling back in March. The Commerce Department reported retail sales rose 0.4% in April after a 0.7% drop in March. Households searched for deals online and splurged more at restaurants and bars. Consumer spending powers two-thirds of the economy, so spending trends are essential to watch.

Optimism has returned to the housing market. The National Association of Home Builders reported the first positive reading of its homebuilder sentiment index since July. Sentiment has improved for five straight months. Home supply is low, so it will be necessary for construction to pick up.

The debt ceiling is still TBD. Negotiations are ongoing between the White House and Congress about raising the limit on the country’s borrowing. Treasury Secretary Yellen warned the country could run out of money by June 1st.

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• Comcast’s Peacock pays $110M to stream a single NFL playoff game

• Wells Fargo pays $1B for hiding its failures

• Shell’s board won’t be personally liable for climate inaction

• Home Depot’s sales sink as homeowners cut back

• Microsoft’s Activision buyout gets antitrust clearance in Europe [🤓]

  That’s our 2,000th company scoop!🎉🎉

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Antitrust & Monopolies

Federal antitrust laws are designed to increase economic competition by limiting the market power of any company or small group of companies (aka a trust).

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission, and sometimes the Justice Department, are tasked with monitoring pricing practices and collusion between significant corporations to break up monopolies and other anti-competitive power structures.

Regulators review all corporate mergers and acquisitions to ensure newly-formed companies won't limit competition in a way that harms consumers with less choice or higher prices.

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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.

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