July 18 (Tuesday)

Latest Morning Briefing Executive Summary: Dismissing The Dismal Definition Of Economics
The conventional wisdom is that economics is the study of how best to allocate scarce resources—a dismal proposition. I disagree: Economics is all about using technology to create and spread abundance—a much more uplifting definition. The dismal framing taught in universities seems to have produced economists biased toward pessimism. Perhaps that’s why most—after ample evidence that the economy is thriving—are just starting to accept that a recession is not about to happen. … Today, we examine the consensus views of economic forecasters, including within the Fed, and supply context to their outlooks in the form of what inflation has been doing, especially wage inflation.
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YRI
Daily Markets Overview
Replay of Dr. Ed’s webinar on July 17.

Markets
Dow, S&P 500 rise after upbeat earnings from big banks | R
The Man Charged With Steering the Yuan Through China’s Economic Turmoil | W

Central banks
Jerome Powell’s Prized Labor Market Is Back. Can He Keep It? | N
Fed banking regulator warns A.I. could lead to illegal lending practices like excluding minorities | C

US
The Biden economy is strong. Why don’t voters agree? | MSNBC
Voters know Biden’s talking baloney on his economic record | P
Financial Crimes That Rocked the U.S. | W
These are the 10 states with America’s worst infrastructure | C
Frozen food grocery sales vs. critical cold storage supply chains | C

China
China Evergrande Posts Losses of $81 Billion Over Two Years | yahoo.com

Europe
Europe on red alert as heatwave brings health warning | R
Europe’s sweltering summer could send tourists to cooler climes | R
Bidding Wars Get Weird in One of World’s Hottest Rental Markets | W
 
Geopolitics & trade
The Best of Frenemies: Saudi Crown Prince Clashes With U.A.E. President | W
U.S. Nuclear-Capable ‘Boomer’ Sub Visits South Korea for First Time in Decades | W
U.S. Soldier Held in North Korea After Crossing DMZ | W
U.S. blacklists two firms that built Meta, iOS and spyware | C
 
Industries & companies
Homebuilders: Homebuilder sentiment rises in July, but high mortgage rates hurt | C
Media: Barbie, Inc: How A $3 Toy Inspired A Multi-Billion-Dollar Dream World | FO
Retail: Retail Sales Rose in June as Inflation Eased | W
Tech: People Have Begun to Love Apple’s Most Hated Product | W

Climate
Lots of Tap Water Contains ‘Forever Chemicals.’ Take These Steps to Reduce Your Risk. | W

Technology
Microsoft’s Bing Chat A.I. bot now lets you search using images | C
 
Beyond markets
Taylor Swift now has the most No. 1 albums of any female artist | C