📉 Is The War On Inflation Ending?

Good morning. US stock futures inched higher in Friday morning trading as investors evaluated the start of second-quarter earnings reporting season.

📊 US inflation cools in latest reading

📝 Our report: US consumers just got a reprieve — sorta! The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the cost of daily essentials like groceries, gas, and rent, dipped by 0.1% in June compared to the previous month. Consumer prices were just 3% higher compared to a year ago — cooler than May's data and lower than economist estimates.

 🔑 Key points:

• The new reading is the first time since May 2020 that monthly headline CPI came in negative. It's also the slowest annual gain in prices since March 2021.

• But while inflation has fallen substantially from its peak of 9.1% in June 2022, the measure remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

• Though Fed officials at their June meeting indicated the likelihood of one quarter percentage point decrease this year, markets now are pricing in an initial cut in September followed by at least one by the end of the year, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tracker.

💡 So what: A dip in the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) implies a slight decrease in inflation, suggesting that prices for everyday goods and services are stabilizing or falling. This can be a relief for consumers, as it may indicate that their purchasing power is improving. For the Federal Reserve, it could influence decisions on interest rates, potentially leading to a pause or reduction in rate hikes. However, it also raises questions about economic growth and whether the drop is due to weakened demand, which could signal underlying economic issues.

Friday - Consumer Sentiment (prelim)

📈 Peter Thiel shares his top investing tips

🧑🏽‍💼 Is your career stagnating? These signs will tell you!

🚗 Here are 5 ways to save on auto repair costs

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🥽 Apple expands Vision Pro outside US

WHAT: Apple's mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, is set to venture beyond U.S. borders and debut in more countries. The Vision Pro will hit stores in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. in the coming days and weeks. Tech market watchers have noted that while the headset is often met with great excitement, Apple has struggled to convert that into sales.

WHY: Apple reportedly trimmed its Vision Pro sales expectations to around 400,000 to 450,000 units in 2024, down from 700,000 to 800,000 earlier, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple analyst at TF International Securities.

🚗 Automaker investing big to secure EV future

WHAT: General Motors is gearing up to invest at least $900 million to revamp its Lansing, Michigan plant for electric vehicle production, according to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. Granholm announced that the largest U.S. automaker will receive $500 million in government grants to convert its Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan to EVs at an unspecified future date.

WHY: The automaker has announced plans to convert a number of internal combustion engine plants to EV production including two other Michigan plants as well as factories in Tennessee, Ohio and Kansas as it plans to end the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

🏬 Chain store pays fine over safety violations

WHAT: Dollar General will fork over $12 million for alleged safety violations like blocked exits, hidden fire extinguishers, and hazardous storage. In a deal with the federal Labor Department, the discount retailer will now have to step up its safety game in stores nationwide. As part of the settlement, the company MUST hire additional safety managers, expand its safety and health management system, provide concerned training to employees and managers and develop a safety and health committee.

WHY: Dollar General, which has over 19,000 stores in the United States, was designated by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a "severe violator" of federal law. The department has previously alleged that the retailer endangered worker safety by exposing them to unsafe conditions and the company failed several government safety inspections.

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