June 8, 2022

The Appetizer

“Whatever it is you want to do, you’ve got time. Don’t worry about your career following a straight line.”

Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph in a graduation commencement speech.

Now on to the numbers, Drum roll, please …

• 3.6%: The U.S. unemployment rate for May, unchanged from April.
• 77 square miles: The size of a seagrass plant off the coast of Australia, now considered the world’s largest plant.
• $5.3 billion: The final selling price of Chelsea FC, formerly owned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
• 10 days: The amount of time that Ford’s new Ford F-150 Lightning can power a home.
• 12.2 years: The average age of vehicles on U.S. roadways, a new record.

Dig In
Consumer Health

In the last week, the one question that’s come up at nearly every client meeting is whether or not the U.S. is headed for a recession.

We believe it’s inevitable that the U.S. economy will enter a recession at some point, but we don’t believe that one will occur this year. One of the main reasons? You, the consumer.

Consumption powers more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Despite higher prices, supply chain shortages, and the pandemic, households continue to spend.

Here are three examples that point to a strong consumer:

1. Household wealth: Although it’s fallen this year as a result of the market’s decline, net worth is still above pre-pandemic levels.
2. Excess savings: At the start of COVID-19, we stayed at home and saved a lot more than we would have under “normal” circumstances.
3. Financial obligation ratio: This measures the percentage of our disposable income that goes to debt payments, and it’s declined to the lowest levels since the ’80s.

We invite you to read, watch, or listen for more on the state of the consumer in our latest Sight|Lines.

Weekly Specials

Top Gun: Maverick is bringing film fans back to cinemas. Spoiler: Popcorn is the latest victim of the supply chain bottlenecks.

Tap to pay, with a ring. A Japanese company created a smart ring with a chip embedded that can act as a wallet and a key.

Cake, Earth, and the Mona Lisa. Not sure what the connection is, other than an activist hurled cake at DaVinci’s Mona Lisa in a climate protest. The masterpiece, protected behind glass, was unharmed. The Mona Lisa is no stranger to this sort of attention: It’s been stolen, attacked with acid, and been the target of a ceramic cup.

Every parent knows that keeping young children still for a few minutes is hard. Formal events, impossible. The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee? We can’t even imagine. Prince Louis stole the show as only a four-year-old can.

The EU announced a ban of Russian oil imports that arrive by sea – about two-thirds of imports. The U.S. may allow more Iranian crude to make its way to global markets, even without a revived nuclear deal, in an effort to ease the energy crunch.

Corporate Lunch

The EU is making one charging port (USB-C) the standard for all phones, tablets, and headphones. What say you, Apple?

GM’s 2023 Chevrolet Bolt price will start at a very specific $26,595.

¡Mamá mia! Taco Bell is running out of Mexican Pizzas after bringing back the menu item less than two weeks ago.

Amazon’s stock has split for the first time in 23 years and began trading at its new share price on Monday.

Starbucks wants its next CEO to be from outside the company in a push for new talent.

Meta Platforms (the owner of Facebook) plans to invest heavily in the build out of the metaverse in the next three to five years. The company is changing its ticker symbol to Meta from FB before the market opens on June 9.

The U.S. Energy Department is now home to the world’s fastest supercomputer. The computer can perform a quintillion calculations per second – that’s one billion, billion.