U.S. home sales fell in July for the sixth month in a row “as higher mortgage rates continue to push would-be buyers to the sidelines.” Sales of existing homes were down almost 6 percent in July from a month earlier and fell by more than 20 percent from the same period a year ago. The trend’s taking a bit out of independent mortgage lenders, too - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
Speaking of housing, the U.S. sunbelt has reprised its role as the “epicenter” of the latest economic crisis in the U.S. Back in 2009, that meant getting pummeled by the housing crisis. In 2022, it’s facing “some of the fastest price increases in the nation” - NYTimes
On the heels of the NLRB moving to force Amazon to reinstate a fired employee in anticipation of union-organizing efforts, a federal judge on Thursday granted that very relief to the Board in its fight with Starbucks in Tennessee to “reinstate seven employees who were fired in February” from the company “after they spearheaded efforts to unionize the branch in Memphis where they worked” - NYTimes
Chunks of Wall Street are betting that the Fed is “bluffing” over its repeated commitment to raising rates to fight inflation. The comeuppance is going to be nasty for traders and central bankers alike, so buckle up - WSJ and MarketWatch
For their part, Fed officials have been a bit all over the map on the size of a potential September hike (though no one’s on record yet saying the increases are done) - Bloomberg
On the rise of “elasticity” as the business buzz word of choice these days—the “economic concept that says a lot about the precarious state of the American consumer.” That is, “how sensitive buyers are to price changes,” a key concept when price hikes are all the rage - NYTimes
The United States announced its intention to begin formal trade negotiations with Taiwan this fall. The relationship has been the subject of increased scrutiny in recent weeks “following visits by two delegations of U.S. lawmakers” to the country this month—trips that “angered the Chinese government, which sees the island as an incontestable part of its territory” - NYTimes and Bloomberg and Law360
After a rough start to the year, bank stocks have emerged as a mid-season winner. Five of the 6 biggest U.S. banks have seen their own shares outperform the S&P 500’s 13% gain since the end of June - WSJ
It's been far from an overnight success. But Apple Pay has quietly worked its way into the mainstream. After sitting at 10% activation on iPhones in 2016, it’s now around “75% and inching closer to ubiquity.” A few thoughts from the Journal on why - WSJ
Retailer Kohl’s will open Sephora shops inside all of its 1165 locations, “positioning its beauty unit for growth.” Kohl’s sees its partnership with the beauty retailer as generating upwards of $2 billion in annual sales by 2025 - NYTimes and WSJ
Berlin’s back, baby. You food and dance lovers with a free long weekend and some disposable income, go make it happen - NYTimes
Stay safe, and have a great weekend,
MDR
