A general view of the U.S. Capitol Building on May 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) You’ll be hearing a lot about the debt ceiling in coming weeks. Tune it out. Learn something useful about real ceilings, instead. Or watch the latest Lil’ Nas X video in slo-mo. Or maybe try to get to know Matt Damon. You won’t, but it will still be time better spent than worrying about the debt ceiling. You shouldn’t be reading this story. Stop reading! I just told… Source link

U.S. employers added back fewer jobs than expected in July, with the tepid return of workers capping overall economic growth as the economy struggles to fully emerge from the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Private payrolls increased by 330,000 in July, ADP said in its closely watched monthly report on Wednesday. Consensus economists were looking for a rise of 690,000, according to Bloomberg data. In June, the economy added back 680,000 private payrolls, with this figure revised down from… Source link

Spacious affordable homes in less populated metropolitan areas are hot, while small expensive apartments in densely populated areas are not. Warmer weather also appeals to homebuyers. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted homebuyers’ preferences in a major way, making these three cities the hottest cities in the U.S. last year. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.; Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.; and Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC were the the top metros for the most inbound… Source link

This article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET. Subscribe Wednesday, August 4, 2021 Clorox shares erase all of their COVID gains On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a global pandemic.  In the days that followed, American consumers rapidly stockpiled supplies of all kinds — among them canned foods, toilet paper, and disinfecting wipes.  And as the market has… Source link

(Bloomberg) — Grocery delivery giant Instacart Inc. has hired another Facebook Inc. veteran as it shakes up its executive ranks and adds more women to its C-suite ahead of a highly anticipated initial public offering. Carolyn Everson, 49, will serve as president and oversee a wide range of Instacart’s operations including retail, advertising, business development, human resources, legal and partnerships, the company said in a statement. She will begin her new role on Sept. 7. Everson, who… Source link

 WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is aiming to give full approval for the Pfizer COVID vaccine by early September, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing people involved in the effort.    The FDA gave emergency use authorization to the Pfizer vaccine late last year. Full approval by the FDA could push more Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine as it might reduce their fears about the safety of the shot.    The agency’s unofficial deadline for… Source link

(Bloomberg) — The spread of the delta coronavirus variant has pushed the threshold for herd immunity to well over 80% and potentially almost 90%, the Infectious Diseases Society of America said. U.S. President Joe Biden criticized the pandemic response of the Florida and Texas governors, both Republicans. The two states account for about a third of all new U.S. cases in the past week. Thailand had record deaths and cases, while Australia found a case in the far-north city of Cairns. Hong Kong… Source link

(Bloomberg) — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s revenue missed estimates for the first time in more than two years, underscoring how Beijing’s months-long campaign against the internet sector is taking a toll. Growth slowed in most of Alibaba’s major divisions from cloud to e-commerce, underlining fears that the mounting list of new government regulations is constraining expansion and increasing companies’ burdens. In a sign of the times, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang on Tuesday… Source link

Year-to-date, the market trends are highly positive. The S&P 500 is up ~18%, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ, has put up a 14.5% year-to-date gain. There are potential headwinds – inflation is a worry, as is the possibility of further COVID-related restriction policies. But for now, the economy is mostly open, consumers are starting to spend, and investors seem optimistic. As J.P. Morgan’s chief US strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas recently put it, the economic gains are “not an event but… Source link

Google has apparently leaked some unannounced Nest security cameras right on its own online store (thanks for the tip, Eric!). Google confirmed in January that it would be releasing a new lineup of security cameras this year, and it seems like the company’s store may have just revealed what’s on the way. As far as we can tell, the new devices include a combined outdoor / indoor battery-powered Nest Cam, a Nest Cam with floodlight, an indoor wired Nest Cam, and a battery-powered Nest… Source link