Good morning. US stock futures fell in Thursday morning trading as the tech-powered market rally shows signs of fading.

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Top News

US dollar isn’t going anywhere!

WHAT: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell boldly declared that the US dollar would continue its reign as the world’s reserve currency as long as the US maintains strong democratic institutions and upholds the rule of law. “The reason we have that (reserve currency) status is largely due to the rule of law and the fact that we have had strong levels of price stability.” Powell said as he delivered remarks to the House Financial Services Committee.

WHY: The dollar’s share of official forex reserves fell to a 20-year low of 58% in the fourth quarter of 2022 according to data from the International Monetary Fund.

Fed exec: Hold interest rates steady

WHAT: Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic cheekily declared that if the Federal Reserve continues to crank up interest rates, they might end up zapping the strength of the US economy. In written remarks, Bostic suggested that officials give more time to allow the impact of previous rate increases to bear fruit before hiking rates further.

WHY: With inflation still more than double the Fed’s 2% target and declining only slowly, policymakers said they expected another half-point of rate increases this year, with investors betting rate hikes will resume at the Fed’s July policy meeting.

Apple excites developers with software release

WHAT: Apple is wasting no time in leveraging the hype of its most recent product launch, its mixed reality headset Vision Pro. The company announced that it’s making the tools necessary to build apps for its Vision Pro headset available to developers around the world by releasing its “visionOS” software development kit.

WHY: Apple debuted the $3499 Vision Pro during its Worldwide Developer Conference on June 5. The headset features a high resolution display and a unique external screen that shows people around you a virtual version of your eyes.

In Other News

Amazon hit with Prime lawsuit

 WHAT: In a lawsuit that screams “Hey Amazon, you can’t hide from us”, the US Federal Trade Commission accused the e-commerce giant of tricking customers into joining their Prime membership service and then playing a game of “hide and seek” when customers wanted to cancel.

WHY: In its complaint, the FTC said customers must click through five pages on the desktop webstore or six on the mobile app to cancel Prime. The agency also accused Amazon of violating a consumer protection law designed to protect online shoppers.

Who’s up for some lab-grown chicken?

WHAT: Hold on to your drumsticks folks! The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) just gave the greenlight to food manufacturers Upside Foods and Good Meat to sell their lab-grown, cell-cultivated chicken products across the US.

WHY: Both companies cultivate their meat by placing chicken cells in large steel vessels. They then feed the cells nutrients to help them multiply and grow. It takes the meat about two to three weeks to develop and be harvested before it’s ready to eat.

That’s our logo!

WHAT: In a quirky legal battle, shoe manufacturer Skechers took fashion company Steve Madden to court in Los Angeles alleging the company’s “Kennie” line of sneakers is causing some serious logo confusion. Skechers claims the Steve Madden sneakers feature an “S” design that is likely to mislead consumers into thinking they were crafted or approved by Skechers themselves.

WHY: Skechers has been involved in intellectual property disputes with several other shoemakers including Nike, Adidas and Easy Spirit.

Key Economic Events

• Thursday - Initial Jobless Claims, Bank of England Bank Rate

• Friday - No Major Economic News

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