Good morning. US stock futures traded higher in Monday morning trading as investors kicked off the second half of what has already been a stellar year on Wall Street.

"Liquidity is a concern of the short term investor and a minor matter for the long term investor"

Peter Bernstein

Top News

US Treasury Secretary: Economy remains robust

WHAT: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen confidently declared that the American economy is set to keep rocking the labor market and taming inflation even if it slows down a bit. Speaking at a residential solar power company in New Orleans, Yellen added that US households and businesses remained well capitalized.

WHY: “Going forward, I expect the current strength of the labor market and robust household and business balance sheets to serve as a source of economic strength, even if our economy does cool a bit more as inflation falls” Yellen said.

EU, Japan sync up on chips

WHAT: The European Union and Japan are looking to join forces to conquer the mighty world of semiconductors! Thierry Breton, the EU’s industry chief declared the bloc’s intention to deepen cooperation with Japan to strengthen control over a technology vital for the defense, electronics and automotive industry.

WHY: The EU and Japan will work together to monitor the chip supply chain, and facilitate exchange of research and engineers Breton said. The EU will also consider providing subsidies for Japanese companies interested in setting up shop in the region.

Hotel workers strike in SoCal

WHAT: In a daring move, thousands of hotel workers in Southern California decided to take an impromptu “vacation” by walking off their jobs to demand better pay and higher benefits. Cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers and bell men began picketing outside major hotels in Los Angeles and Orange Counties just as the summer tourist frenzy was kicking off.

WHY: Contracts expired last week at more than 60 hotels, including properties owned by major chains such as Marriot and Hilton. The strike affects about 16,000 hospitality workers across Southern California and Arizona.

In Other News

Twitter limits tweets…

 WHAT: The Twitter saga keeps getting stranger! This time, the company decided to introduce a temporary cap on the number of tweets users can view each day. Twitter owner Elon Musk announced the restrictions via a tweet stating the company instituted the limit to address “extreme levels of data scraping” and “system manipulation”. Unverified users can view up to 1000 tweets per day whereas verified users can view up to 10,000 tweets per day.

WHY: The move follows other restrictions put in place by the company which includes restricting users without accounts from viewing tweets and profiles. Musk has made a series of changes to Twitter since buying the company, most notably through the introduction of premium accounts that charges users $8 per month called Twitter Blue.

Changing labels

WHAT: Tyson Foods is putting the “antibiotics back in action” in its chicken supply chain, bidding farewell to its “no antibiotics ever” tagline from Tyson-branded chicken products according to reports from the Wall Street Journal. The report added that the antibiotics used are “not important to human health” and will apply to all fresh, frozen and ready-made products under the brand.

WHY: In 2017, the US meatpacker had switched its retail line of company-branded chicken products to birds raised without any antibiotics.

Walgreens to shutter hundreds of locations across US, UK

WHAT: Prepare for a dose of downsizing as pharmacy chain Walgreens plans to close 150 of its locations in the US and another 300 in the UK. The news comes on the heels of the company also announcing plans to let go 500 corporate staff members.

WHY: The company did not announce which locations will be closed, but stated the closings are expected to occur before the end of Walgreens 2024 fiscal year in May 2024.

Key Economic Events

• Monday - No Major Economic News

• Tuesday - Markets Closed For US Independence Day

• Wednesday - Fed’s Williams Speaks At Central Bank Research Association Meeting, FOMC Meeting Minutes

• Thursday - Fed’s Logan Speaks On Policy Challenges For Central Bank

• Friday - Unemployment Rate (June)

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