Equities little changed; US yields dip as investors look to tariffs, earnings, economic data
U.S. consumer sentiment improved in July and inflation expectations declined, but households still saw substantial risk of price pressures increasing, the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers released on Friday showed.
Another report showed U.S. single-family homebuilding dropped to an 11-month low in June as high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty hindered home purchases, suggesting residential investment contracted again in the second quarter.
On Thursday, news of stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales and a drop in jobless claims suggested modest improvements in economic activity and helped push the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record closing highs.
On Friday, the mood dimmed after the Financial Times reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for a minimum tariff of 15% to 20% on the European Union. The report said he was unmoved by the latest EU offer to reduce car tariffs and would keep those duties at 25% as planned.
"Tariff headlines this afternoon reminded investors that volatility is likely to persist through the start of August." said Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at 248 Ventures. "Investors may be taking some money off the table going into the weekend given lingering tariff uncertainty and a market that has a premium valuation after reaching new highs."
She noted that these concerns were on display in shares of American Express (AXP.N), opens new tab and Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab, which both fell on solid earnings reports and forecasts after reaching high valuations ahead of the results. Netflix ended down 5% while Amex fell 2.3%.
Still, many investors had high hopes for upcoming earnings and made bullish bets ahead of July equity option expirations, said Bruce Zaro, managing director at Granite Wealth Management in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
"Today's action is all about option expiration as investors make bets on the meat of earnings season, which comes in the next few weeks when all the growth and technology companies report," said Zaro, noting that beyond earnings, investors want to benefit from a strong performance trend in megacap names. "There's a fear of missing out."
On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab fell 142.30 points, or 0.32%, to 44,342.19, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab fell 0.57 points, or 0.01%, to 6,296.79 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab rose 10.01 points, or 0.05%, to 20,895.66.
For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.59%, the Nasdaq rose 1.51%, and the Dow fell 0.07%.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS), opens new tab rose 1.18 points, or 0.13%, to 927.47, hitting a record high earlier in the day.
Earlier, Europe's STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab index closed down 0.01%, and was off 0.06% for the week.
In currencies, the U.S. dollar slipped against the euro but was showing a weekly gain, as investors weighed central bank policy amid signs that tariffs may be starting to fuel inflation pressures and as Trump continued to publicly criticize Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
The euro pared some gains after a Financial Times report on a toughening U.S. stance on European import tariffs.
The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.05% to 98.46. The euro was last up 0.27% at $1.1626.
Against the Japanese yen , the dollar strengthened 0.09% to 148.73 as polls showed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's coalition was in danger of losing its majority in an election on Sunday.
In government bonds, U.S. Treasuries prices rose, dragging their yields lower, after comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller pushed for a rate cut later this month, while technical buying also contributed to the move higher.
In contrast, most officials who have spoken publicly have indicated a desire to hold rates steady and traders are betting on a 95.3% probability that rates will stay where they are after the month-end meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch, opens new tab tool.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 3.9 basis points to 4.424%, from 4.463% late on Thursday while the 30-year bond yield fell 1.8 basis points to 4.9958% from 5.014%.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 4.4 basis points to 3.873%, from 3.917% late on Thursday.
In commodities, crude oil futures held steady as mixed U.S. economic news offset worries the European Union's latest for its war in Ukraine could reduce oil supplies.
U.S. crude settled down 0.3%, or 20 cents at $67.34 a barrel while Brent ended at $69.28 per barrel, down 0.35% or 24 cents on the day.
Gold prices rose on Friday as a weaker U.S. dollar and ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty boosted demand for the safe-haven metal, while platinum prices eased after reaching their highest level since 2014. Spot gold rose 0.33% to $3,349.66 an ounce.
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The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Why many Black Americans are boycotting big-box retail stores: ‘using my money to resist'
Rebecca Renard-Wilson has stopped shopping at Target and all things Amazon including Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh. These days, the mother of two shops for the things she needs at farmer's markets, small mom-and-pop stores or she goes directly to the websites of products she wants to purchase. 'I have options of where I put my money,' Renard-Wilson, 49, said. 'Yes, Target's convenient. Yes, Amazon Fresh is on my drive to my kids' school. The options that I have discovered have opened up new relationships. I feel more connected to my community because I'm not shopping at those big-box places. I'm able to now use my money not only to resist places that don't align with my values, but I'm able to now support places that do align with my values. To me, that's a win-win.' Renard-Wilson is among a growing group of African Americans who are ditching corporate big-box retail stores who rolled back their DEI programs and instead are shopping at small, minority- and women-owned businesses they believe value their dollars more. In February, more than 250,000 people signed a pledge to boycott Target after Rev Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Baptist church outside of Georgia, called for a 40-day Target Fast that started at the beginning of the Lenten season. The boycott has become a movement across social media and within community neighborhoods nationwide with the shared goal of rejecting systems that do not value the African American community, and it has already impacted Target. In the first quarter of the year, the company reported a $500m loss in year-over-year sales, citing reaction to the boycott and lower foot traffic. Shortly after taking office in January, Donald Trump eliminated DEI programs across offices in the federal government. Retailers, including Target, Walmart and Amazon, followed the president's lead in eliminating their DEI programs and initiatives. In 2020, following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, millions marched in the streets in protest of police violence – and tech giants, retailers, Fortune 500 companies and industries pledged their commitment to diversity practices. Target specifically committed to invest $2 bn in Black-owned businesses. It increased the amount it spent with Black-owned suppliers by over 50% and doubled the number of Black-owned brands on its shelves. Customers found Black-owned hair products such as TGIN (Thank God Its Natural), Camille Rose and Pattern (by actor Tracee Ellis Ross), beauty brands Black Opal and TLB (The Lip Bar), and lifestyle merchandise like Be Rooted and Tabitha Brown's products including mugs, stationary, tote bags, home decor and kitchen essentials. Some considered it to be a 'racial reckoning'. By 2024, the reckoning had soured as racial justice fatigue and a deviance to progress set-in with the reelection of Trump. 'We are standing in righteous indignation against racism and sexism in this nation,' Bryant told his congregation. Target, he said, 'made a commitment after the death of George Floyd that you would invest $2 bn into the Black community before December 2025'. When Target dropped its DEI programs and initiatives in January, Bryant said the company was 'reneging on the financial commitment you made to our people'. Bryant partnered with the US Black Chamber of Commerce to provide a digital directory of more than 150,000 Black-owned businesses across the US and asked that the more than 250,000 people who registered to buy directly from the Black-owned businesses' online platforms and not Target. And during the Easter weekend Bryant said that five mega churches turned their spaces into retail malls so congregants could support Black-owned businesses. It wasn't an easy decision to boycott Target, Renard-Wilson said. She has friends who have products on Target shelves and liked supporting their businesses. When she learned about the boycott on social media, she was conflicted. 'Some people were saying if you boycott Target, then you are basically crippling those Black, queer, or Latino creatives who have had to put so much capital, so much time, and so much resources just to get their stuff on the Target shelves,' Renard-Wilson said. 'I was like, 'Damn, now this is complicated.'' The retailers' decisions to eliminate their DEI initiatives, Renard-Wilson said, demonstrated that they 'don't really care about' minority communities. There was a time, she says, when she shopped at Target and Amazon Fresh pretty regularly, because they were convenient. Sometimes she visited Amazon Fresh two or three times a week, because it was on the way to her kids' schools. Renard-Wilson, who lives with her husband and two young children in Los Angeles, gets a lot of the goods that she used to purchase at Target or Amazon from Costco now, which doubled-down on its commitment to DEI. 'We didn't really mess with Costco that much because it was a headache to get to and the parking was always crazy,' said Renard-Wilson. 'But when Target was like, 'Forget DEI', and Costco was like, 'We value diversity,' I was like, 'I'm going to spend my money in a place that's aligned with my values.'' And when Renard-Wilson can't find what she needs at Costco, she'll go to small local mom-and-pop stores or buy directly online from the source. She found a deodorant she likes produced by a Black woman-owned company. Renard-Wilson is also part of a Facebook group where people share where to get certain items. The financial cost of not shopping at Target or Amazon has been minimal, Renard-Wilson said. In fact, when she compared one of her pre-boycott credit card bills with her credit card bill during the boycott, she had spent $2,000 less by not shopping at the big-box retailers. She points out the one time her husband, a teacher, paid more than double for workshop supplies that he could have gotten much cheaper at Amazon. Other than that, Renard-Wilson says most products have only been a few bucks more along with the cost of shipping sometimes. 'Thankfully, prayerfully, we're in a financial position to be able to pay a little bit more,' says Renard-Wilson, who acknowledges that her family is currently in a privileged financial position to be able to explore options outside of big-box corporate retail stores. But there are families in smaller rural areas who do not have the retail options of big cities, technology access or the financial means to fully participate in the retail boycott. Karmen Jones' 82-year-old grandmother lives in rural Mississippi. The closest grocery store to her grandmother is a Walmart, Jones says, which is 30 to 40 minutes away from her grandmother's home. There is no Instacart or Uber Eats in her area that's close to the Delta, and her elderly grandmother is not going to go online to purchase items, Jones said. There's also the transportation issue. Jones often has to take her grandmother grocery shopping when she visits. 'It's a privilege to be able to protest,' Jones, 26, said. 'My grandmother does not have the privilege to say no to a Walmart if that's the nearest grocery store that she has.' Jones' family's roots run deep in Mississippi. Her family had to be protected from the Ku Klux Klan, she says, because her great-grandmother owned a successful Black business. Jones recently visited the plantation where her family lived and worked in Mississippi, and witnessed the large wealth gap between Blacks and whites in the rural area. Given her family's history, she doesn't want people to judge her grandmother if she is unable to participate in the boycott. 'I believe the elders deserve to have a break at times. They deserve to have support and to have care. That is where she [my grandmother] is in her chapter in her life. She's in a place where she deserves care,' said Jones, a communications consultant, whose family travels between Washington DC, where she first heard about the retail boycott, and Mississippi for work. She also notes that there's a difference in the robust grocery market in the DMV (Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia) versus the food deserts in Mississippi. 'In the DMV, we quickly noticed that you don't really have to go to Walmart or Target. You can go to Harris Teeter or Trader Joes,' Jones said. In Mississippi, Jones says she's shopped at Kroger or Costco since the boycott. If she goes to a particularly rural area, she has to stop at a corner store or market for goods. But more importantly, she's noticed the big financial cost to boycotting. Most of her beauty or hair products used to be purchased from Amazon, Jones says, but now she buys items from Ulta, which has remained committed to its DEI initiatives put forth in 2020 and 2021. 'There is a price to pay for protesting,' Jones said. Though Jones has had to pay more for products, she says she will not be going back to big retailers anytime soon, even if they reinstated their DEI initiatives. Target, especially, was a disappointment, Jones said. 'Target marketed itself prior to Trump's last election as being pro-DEI and being pro-Black creatives. Our faces were all around the store and even in the aisles,' she said. Bryant told CNN's Erin Burnett in May that the Target boycott will continue until things shift. He's taking a page out of the history books, pointing to the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted 381 days. That protest, which occurred 70 years ago, serves as a model. Most recently Bryant called for a boycott of Dollar General stores and McDonalds. Renard-Wilson says she doesn't plan to return to the big-box retail stores, even if there is a shift to embrace DEI again. 'I do not have any desire to continue supporting capitalistic systems that put profit over people,' Renard-Wilson says. 'I'm going to use my money and try to invest in people who care about me and my community.' This story was co-published and supported by the journalism non-profit the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
Daily Mail
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Walmart in city plagued by soft-on-crime laws becomes poster child for shoplifting chaos
Walmart was once praised by consumers for being one of the few retailers that did not lock up its merchandise, but it is now increasingly being forced to do so in the face of out-of-control shoplifting. Alarming pictures of a Walmart store in Happy Valley, a suburb of Portland, Oregon, have shocked customers who claim shopping in person is now a dreadful experience. Portland, known for its liberal politics, has seen areas of the city suffer terrible decline after a failed attempt at drug decriminalization. The city has been overrun by theft - 10,000 cases were reported to police last year, triple the number from three years ago - forcing retailers including Walmart to close stores that cannot sustain the losses. A series of viral images posted to Reddit show row after row of Walmart stock, from children's toys and gadgets to frozen food and batteries, behind locked glass cases. Retailers including CVS and Walgreens have resorted to such extremes in areas where shoplifting is so rampant, such as in downtown New York and San Francisco, that it damages stores' bottom lines. The system - which forces customers to call an attendant to open the case every time they wish to add something to their basket - is loathed by consumers. Businesses have also admitted that it does not actually help, as stores which employ the tactic often see sales plummet. 'What is even the point of shopping in-person anymore?' one Walmart customer seethed about the Happy Valley store on Reddit. 'If theft is that bad they're willing to lock up everything they might as well make it a pickup center,' another agreed. Another shopper argued that Walmart is deliberately making it difficult to shop there as they are more keen on boosting their online business. 'They don't want you in the store. They want you to order it online instead,' the Walmart customer alleged. 'Stores don't want you in there, it costs them money. Walmart would rather be Amazon.' Retail experts have suggested the scale of theft must be significant for Walmart to even consider locking its products behind glass. 'Walmart has run the numbers. If they're willing to sacrifice convenience - their second biggest competitive advantage after price - the theft losses must be substantial,' retail analyst Carol Spieckerman told Spieckerman argued that the inconvenience for consumers will undoubtedly have an impact on the store's bottom line. Portland, known for its liberal politics, has seen areas of the city suffer terrible decline after a failed attempt at drug decriminalization Rows of children's toys were among the goods pictured locked up in the Happy Valley location More expensive items such as cameras and computer devices were also locked up Everyday essentials such as toothpaste were also placed behind the Perspex glass Batteries are locked up in a store in Happy Valley, Oregon 'Price alone isn't enough if shopping becomes a hassle,' Spieckerman explained. 'The problematic locations must drive enough business to warrant keeping the doors open despite the friction.' Like San Francisco, Portland's 'doom loop' accelerated in the years following the pandemic. Big firms cutting back on office space hurt local businesses who rely on workers' footfall. As they too pulled back, the homeless population expanded with theft and rampant drug use proliferating. Last year, Oregon was forced to end the state's decriminalized drug laws after overdose rates soared. Portland's new mayor Keith Wilson is also considered to be more pro-business and his district attorney, Nathan Vasquez, tougher on crime. Walmart has also resorted to permanently closing stores in Portland because of the scale of theft. It is not the only chain that has been forced to do so, with beloved outdoor store Next Adventure recently closing all of its Oregon locations amid historic crime rates.
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Japanese PM's coalition loses majority in upper house election
Mr Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito needed to win 50 seats on top of the 75 seats they already had to reach the goal. With two more seats to be decided, the coalition had only 46 seats. The loss is another blow to Mr Ishiba's coalition, making it a minority in both houses following its October defeat in the lower house election, and worsening Japan's political instability. It was the first time the LDP had lost a majority in both houses of parliament since the party's foundation in 1955. Despite the loss, Mr Ishiba expressed determination to stay on to tackle challenges such as US tariff threats, but he could face calls from within his party to step down or find another coalition partner. 'I will fulfil my responsibility as head of the number one party and work for the country,' he said. Mr Ishiba had set the bar low, wanting a simple majority of 125 seats, which meant his LDP and its Buddhist-backed junior coalition partner Komeito needed to win 50 to add to the 75 seats they already had. Exit poll results released seconds after the ballots closed on Sunday night mostly showed a major setback for Mr Ishiba's coalition. The LDP alone won 38 seats, better than most exit poll projections of 32, and still the number one party in the parliament, known as the Diet. 'It's a tough situation. I take it humbly and sincerely,' Mr Ishiba told a live interview with NHK. He said the poor showing was because his government's measures to combat price increases had yet to reach many people. The poor performance in the election will not immediately trigger a change of government because the upper house lacks the power to file a no-confidence motion against a leader, but it will certainly deepen uncertainty over his fate and Japan's political stability. Mr Ishiba could face calls from within the LDP party to step down or find another coalition partner. Soaring prices, lagging incomes and burdensome social security payments are the top issues for frustrated, cash-strapped voters. Stricter measures targeting foreign residents and visitors also emerged as a key issue, with a surging right-wing populist party leading the campaign. Sunday's vote comes after Mr Ishiba's coalition lost a majority in the October lower house election, stung by past corruption scandals, and his government has since been forced into making concessions to the opposition to get legislation through parliament. It has been unable to quickly deliver effective measures to mitigate rising prices, including Japan's traditional staple of rice, and dwindling wages. US president Donald Trump has added to the pressure, complaining about a lack of progress in trade negotiations and the lack of sales of US vehicles and American-grown rice to Japan despite a shortfall in domestic stocks of the grain. A 25% tariff due to take effect on August 1 has been another blow for Mr Ishiba. Mr Ishiba resisted any compromise before the election, but the prospect for a breakthrough after the election is just as unclear because the minority government would have difficulty forming a consensus with the opposition. Frustrated voters were rapidly turning to emerging populist parties. But the eight main opposition groups were too fractured to forge a common platform as a united front and gain voter support as a viable alternative.
