Good morning. US stock futures rose in Thursday morning trading as investors cheered strong earnings reports and digested news of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike.

"It’s not the answers that make you good in this business. It’s the questions you ask"

Michael Price

Top News

Fed presses play on rate hikes

WHAT: Attention interest rate enthusiasts! The US Federal Reserve has taken a step up the interest rate ladder, raising its benchmark rate by 0.25%, while also leaving the door open for more rate increases this year. The Fed Funds Rate, the Fed’s main policy instrument, now stands at a range of 5.25%-5.50%, the highest level since March 2001.

WHY: The latest rate hike marks the Fed’s 11th increase since March 2022, and comes after the Fed held rates steady in June.

Too many chips coming to market soon?

WHAT: US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is warning about a semiconductor showdown with China, as the Asian nation continues to aggressively subsidize the production of semiconductor chips. “The amount of money that China is pouring into subsidizing what will be an excess capacity of mature chips…that’s a problem we need to get ahead of” Raimondo said during a panel discussion.

WHY: The Biden Administration is working with industry leaders and other allies on a narrowly tailored set of export controls. Those restrictions will build on restrictions implemented in October of last year as the US seeks to protect its national security interests.

US growth forecast gets upward revision

WHAT: The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just updated its crystal ball and it’s looking a whole lot brighter for the US economy. The CBO revised its 2023 growth forecast to 0.9%, up from its initial projection in January of 0.1%, on the back of a stronger-than-expected labor market in the first half of the year.

WHY: The CBO added that the biggest contributors to the strong first half economic performance were higher-than-expected net exports, government purchases and residential investments.

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In Other News

Automakers unite to launch EV charging network

WHAT: A mighty alliance of seven automakers is joining forces to zap the competition and charge up the electric vehicle (EV) market in the US! General Motors, Stellantis, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and BMW have teamed up to create a charging company ready to challenge Tesla, and in a bid to take advantage of subsidies in the EV market offered by the Biden Administration.

WHY: The Biden Administration has set a goal of reaching 500,000 fast charging stations around the US by 2030, which would mark a four-fold increase from the current number of stations.

You can’t buy that with our cards…

WHAT: Looks like Mastercard is playing a “high” stakes game with its debit card holders. The company has told financial institutions to stop allowing debit card transactions for marijuana on its cards, dealing a blow to an industry already on the fringes of the financial system in the US.

WHY: Most banks in the US do not service cannabis companies as marijuana remains illegal at the federal level despite several states legalizing its medicinal and recreational use.

TikTok goes e-commerce to bring Chinese goods to US market

WHAT: TikTok seems to be gearing up to launch a global trade extravaganza! According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, the short-form video sharing app is working with Chinese merchants to help them sell goods internationally, and will roll out its shiny new e-commerce platform officially to consumers in the US market first.

WHY: The program, called “full service” by TikTok, is already being tested in markets such as Britain. TikTok is looking towards an official launch in the US in August.

Key Economic Events

• Thursday - GDP Annualized Q-o-Q

• Friday - U. Of. Mich. Sentiment

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