Wages Grew 3.2%. Prices Are Forecast at 3.4%.

Wages Grew 3.2%. Prices Are Forecast at 3.4%.

July CPI lands at 8:30 a.m. Economists expect 3.4% annually, down from 3.5% in June. Wage growth came in at 3.2% on Friday.

That gap is the whole story, and it barely gets reported. Even the expected outcome leaves prices rising faster than pay — which is what the word stagflation describes when the job market is also weakening. July payrolls contracted by 23,000.

Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, is forecast at plus 0.2% monthly and 2.5% annually. That would be down from 2.6%, but only because it is measured against a high reading from last July.

Here’s why it lands on your desk: if you are living on a fixed income or drawing down savings, this gap is the number that matters more than any index level. It compounds quietly and nobody sends you a statement about it.

Source: NBC News / Dow Jones poll / BLS

Three Trillion Dollars, Before It Even Lists

The biggest IPO in history could be days away.

Experts are saying this company is already worth $3 trillion.

That’s more than every American airline … COMBINED.

And bigger than the entire U.S. defense budget.

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are scrambling to get in.

Even Singapore, Qatar and the UAE are investing.

You can get in on the action too … if you hurry.

Hammack Says One Hike Probably Isn’t Enough

The Cleveland Fed president told Yahoo Finance the central bank may need to raise rates multiple times to bring inflation under control.

Her exact framing: a quarter-point increase “probably doesn’t do a whole lot for the economy.” Hammack was one of the three officials who dissented at the July meeting in favour of a hike.

Inflation peaked at 4.2% in May when the war with Iran pushed crude higher. It has fallen since, but the path down has stalled around three and a half.

If you hold bonds or a mortgage you meant to refinance, the distinction matters: one hike is priced in as a possibility. A series of them is not priced in at all.

Source: Yahoo Finance / NBC News

A Letter Somebody Wants You to Sign

Dear President Trump,

I’m writing to let you know I still stand with you.

For years, politicians sold out American workers and called it “progress.”

We know better.

We lived with the consequences while factories closed and communities faded.

Now the media says Americans are losing faith because Wall Street doesn’t like tariffs.

That’s not true.

We understand what you’re fighting for.

We know rebuilding America takes strength — and sometimes sacrifice.

So don’t back down.

Hold the line.

We’re with you in this fight.

Finish what you started.

Proudly standing with you,

By adding your name, you’ll stand with millions of Americans who support putting America First and rebuilding our nation’s economic strength.

Cisco Reports Tonight. Applied Materials Thursday.

The last two significant AI infrastructure names of the season report this week.

Cisco speaks to networking demand inside data centres, Applied Materials to the equipment that makes the chips. Between them they cover the two layers underneath everything the market has been repricing since July.

Futures were quiet ahead of the inflation print: the Dow flat, the S&P up 0.2%, the Nasdaq 100 up 0.6%. On Tuesday the Russell 2000 eked out a gain while the large caps fell — small companies benefit most if rates come down.

The pattern from the past three weeks has been consistent: results land well, and the share price moves on what the company says it will spend next. Watch the capex line, not the headline number.

Source: TheStreet / Yahoo Finance

Making Money on Other People’s Unpaid Taxes

This is kind of weird but…

Did you know you can make money on other people’s unpaid taxes?

The returns are pretty incredible too.

I’m talking fat double-digit returns.

(and in some cases 1,000%)

And get this:

Your profit is guaranteed.

Yup, I said… GUARANTEED.