Good morning. US stock futures dipped in Friday morning trading as investors looked ahead to wholesale prices data and mulled over July’s consumer inflation report.

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Top News

US inflation print ticks higher

WHAT: Prices in the US seem to be on a rollercoaster ride! The rate of inflation climbed to 3.2% year over year to July, driven higher by rising housing, car insurance and food costs, the US Labor Department said. Inflation ticked higher from 3% in June, the lowest level in more than two years.

WHY: The US central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate to more than 5.25% — the highest level in 22 years — in a bid to cool the economy and ease the pressures pushing up prices.

US Treasury supports low-income communities with bonus tax credit

WHAT: The US Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Services (IRS) just issued the final rules for a new program that’s all about giving tax credits a turbo boost for solar and wind setups in low-income communities. The program — part of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act — aims to increase clean energy and lower costs in neighborhoods struggling with climate change and poverty.

WHY: The Treasury said it expects up to 100,000 applicants from communities and nonprofit groups in the programs first year an administration official said.

Amazon cleans house on private label brands

WHAT: Amazon is doing some closet cleaning, but not in the way you’d expect — they’re tossing out a bunch of their own clothing brands. According to sources familiar with the matter, the company is bidding adieu to 27 of their 30 in-house brands, sticking with just Amazon Essentials, Amazon Collection and Amazon Aware.

WHY: Amazon has faced a range of allegations from a long list of critics, including using third-party data to decide which products to sell, preferencing its goods to the detriment of independent sellers and requiring Prime sellers to use Amazon’s logistics and delivery services.

In Other News

X CEO: We’re trying to win advertisers back

 WHAT: The freshly-minted CEO of the company formerly known as Twitter is on a mission to play matchmaker with big brands and their beloved social media platform. Linda Yaccarino said she’s been talking with brands like Coca-Cola, Visa and State Farm to woo them back to advertising on the platform.

WHY: A number of companies have pulled back on ad spending — the platform’s chief source of revenue — over concerns that owner Elon Musk’s thinning of content restrictions was enabling hateful and toxic speech to flourish.

Robinhood scores win in appeal over meme stock frenzy

WHAT: Stock trading platform Robinhood has managed to fend off a gang of disgruntled investors over its decision to restrict purchases of 13 “memes stocks” during a January 2021 frenzy that squeezed hedge funds. A decision by an Appeals Court in Atlanta said Robinhood’s customer agreement specifically authorized the company to make certain restrictions.

WHY: The meme stock frenzy had been fueled in part by investors using online forums such as Twitter and the subreddit forum WallStreet Bets to discuss certain stock trades.

Disney to crackdown on password sharing

WHAT: Just as rival Netflix did earlier this year, Disney announced during its recent earnings call that it was moving to address password sharing. “We are actively exploring ways to address password account sharing and the best ways for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family” CEO Bob Iger said.

WHY: Coupled with the password sharing announcement, Disney also announced price increases for the second time this year, with prices scheduled to go up in October.

Key Economic Events

• Friday - No Major Economic News

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