Good morning. US stock futures inched higher in Friday morning trading as investors cheered lawmakers passing a debt ceiling bill that averts a US default.

"Anyone taken as an individual is tolerably sensible and reasonable. As a member of a crowd, he at once becomes a blockhead"

Friedrich Schiller

Top News

US plots route to increase presence, stave off China in Latin America and the Caribbean

WHAT: The US is playing “catch up” to China when it comes to its role and influence in its own backyard of Latin America and the Caribbean, and is working on a fresh revamp of its “trade toolbox” according to Juan Gonzalez, senior director for the Western Hemisphere at the US National Security Council.

WHY: “We are currently trying to compete with tools of the past in a field where China and other countries are using tools of the future. Right now the tools we have are not enough. We have to develop new tools to compete in that space” Gonzalez said.

Bank exec: Consumer spending hits the brakes

WHAT: People are clutching their wallets a little closer according to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. Speaking at a conference in New York, Moynihan said consumer spending had “slowed down” with data showing less spending on homes, autos and even restaurants.

WHY: Over the last four quarters, banks lost $1.2 trillion in deposits according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, with nearly half of the total in the first quarter of 2023.

Musk accused of insider trading

WHAT: There’s another plot twist in the adventures of Elon Musk! This time, investors are suing the Twitter Boss and Tesla CEO of insider trading by manipulating the price of meme-coin Dogecoin which apparently cost them billions of dollars.

WHY: Investors have accused Musk, the world’s second richest person according to Forbes, of deliberately driving up Dogecoin’s price more than 36,000% over two years and then letting it crash.

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In Other News

Airbnb takes on NYC

WHAT: In a battle of accommodations, Airbnb took a legal swing at New York City, filing a lawsuit over an ordinance the company called “extreme and oppressive”, claiming it will shrink the local supply of short term rentals in the city.

WHY: The 2022 ordinance, which the city plans to begin enforcing next month, would require owners to register with the Mayor’s office, disclose who else lives in the property, and promise to comply with zoning, construction and maintenance ordinances.

Is your (stored) money safe?

WHAT: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a word of caution for all you Venmo, PayPal and CashApp customers out there. They’re saying “don’t get too comfy storing your dough in these apps for the long haul”. According to the CFPB, those funds might not be safe in a crisis should a run similar to what transpired with banks recently happen with those payment apps.

WHY: Peer-to-peer payment apps and non-banks offering bank-like services have exploded in popularity in the last decade with even tech companies like Apple offering retail financial products.

Meta dodges lawsuit

WHAT: A 2018 privacy lawsuit filed by Washington, DC against Facebook owner Meta Platforms was given the boot by a Superior Court judge. The ruling stated that the company did not dupe consumers during the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal.

WHY: The social media giant drew global scrutiny in 2018 after disclosing that a third-party personality quiz distributed on Facebook gathered profile information on 87 million users worldwide, and sold the data to British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

Key Economic Events

• Friday - US Unemployment Rate, Labor Force Participation Rate

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