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- Tuesday's Scoop: Steady 🌤️
Tuesday's Scoop: Steady 🌤️
Uber cuts driver pay & Boeing's stuck in space
Hey friend - welcome back to your daily scoops on the economy and companies impacting your life.
Here’s what you need to know today to inform your work, spending, and investments…
🌎 Big picture
Americans lost a little confidence in the economy in June.
Home prices keep climbing.
Crypto prices tumbled this past week as investors got nervous about reaching a market top.
How are you feeling about the economy? |
👜 Cost of living trends
Inflation Rate: +3.3% (YoY), +0.0% (MoM)
Policymakers aim for 2% YoY inflation. (May CPI)
Americans’ optimism about the economy faded a little in June. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence index fell to 100.4 from 101.3 in May. People are still relatively positive about finding job opportunities and think the cost of living won’t rise as quickly over the next year. Fewer plan to buy big items like cars, but more are planning vacations. The perceived likelihood of a recession decreased, with younger and older age groups showing improved confidence.
🏠 Housing trends
30yr Mortgage Rate: 6.9%
That’s up from 6.7% a year ago. (MBA)
Median Home Price: $419,300
That’s up from $397K a year ago. (NAR)
Home prices keep climbing. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, US single-family home prices rose by 0.2% in April from the previous month. Over the past year, house prices are up by 6.3%. All nine US regions saw annual house price appreciation, with notable increases in New England and the Middle Atlantic. Despite the steady rise, higher mortgage rates and increased housing inventory could slow this momentum. The National Association of Realtors reported a surge in new homes hitting the market in May, though there’s still a shortage of affordable housing. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 7.22% in early May but slightly decreased to 6.87% last week, still nearly double what a mortgage cost just a few years ago.
📈 Investment trends
The Market: ⬆️ +0.4%
S&P 500: 5,469.30
1Mo: +3% | 1Yr: +26% | 5Yr: +86%
The market drifted higher on Tuesday after three straight days of declines led by massive sales of major tech stocks like Nvidia. There wasn't much major economic data to change the narrative of solid growth and slowing inflation that pushed the stock market to record highs last week.
Cryptocurrencies have taken a nosedive this past week as investors worry about an end to the broader market rally. Bitcoin's price fell below $60,000 on Monday for the first time since May 3 before recovering slightly. The selloff was widespread across most cryptocurrencies. The asset is driven by momentum and flows, so general sentiment shifts are often the best rationalization for price swings. This past week, there were several big sales from Bitcoin miners and government agencies who confiscated stolen coins. There were also fears of potential sales from upcoming distributions to victims of a massive hack years ago. Big sales can often spook more investors into selling.
🤓 Inside Scoop: How can I get better at saving money?
The three secrets to saving more money are creating a budget, trimming non-essential expenses, and automating.
Creating a budget isn’t necessarily about tracking every single dollar. Even reviewing our expenses once to establish a baseline budget provides us with a framework for spending decisions. If we know we’re trying to limit our dining out budget to $300 per month, we might be more likely to suggest a more affordable date night at the end of the month.
We also love finding easy wins. One thorough review of our monthly expenses can reveal hidden recurring subscriptions we don’t need or bills we might be able to negotiate lower. Some apps help identify these things more easily.
Finally, automation is the greatest tool for building wealth. We can hide money from ourselves by automating transfers directly from our paycheck account into different savings accounts for various purposes. If it’s in the spending account, it’s more likely to be spent.
🏭 Companies worth watching
👍👎 APPROVAL RATINGS
How are these companies doing? Judge their decisions. Investing starts with an opinion. (+2 pts)
![]() Uber | Gaming Wages Uber has started locking NYC drivers out of its app during low-demand periods to avoid paying them more for time without a rider under a New York law protecting minimum wages. Drivers for the rideshare giant report needing to work longer hours for the same income.
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💭 Broader perspectives… (+2pts)
Should rideshare drivers be subject to a minimum wage? |
![]() Boeing | Stuck in Space Technical issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft have forced NASA to delay astronauts' return from the International Space Station. What was supposed to be a weeklong trip has been extended to several weeks with no clear return date. Boeing's Starliner, meant to be a NASA alternative to SpaceX, has suffered years of delays and gone billions over budget.
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![]() Carnival Cruise Lines | Bon Voyage One of the world's largest cruise operators reported record bookings and increased its annual profit forecast as solid travel demand allowed for continued ticket price increases. Carnival feels optimistic that the sales can continue, with cruises offering good value relative to other travel.
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![]() Microsoft | Regenerative Agriculture Microsoft plans to reduce global carbon pollution by funding American farmers' transition to more natural practices that improve soil health, reduce water waste, and sequester more carbon. The tech giant has been a leading backer of many different carbon reduction strategies, from tree planting to advanced technology, aiming to capture more pollution than it emits by 2030.
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![]() Novo Nordisk | Hungry for More Novo Nordisk will spend $4.1 billion to build a new manufacturing plant in North Carolina, boosting production of its popular weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic. The Danish drugmaker has suffered intermittent shortages amid surging demand for these new therapies.
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🛠️ Recommended resources (+2pts)
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🪙 Explore Crypto: Invest through the most trusted platform, Coinbase
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