Weekly Market & Economic News Recap (Week of July 17, 2023)

• U.S. companies score partial reprieve from global minimum tax deal. New agreement will delay until 2026 some potential tax increases under the deal. (Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-companies-score-partial-reprieve-from-global-minimum-tax-deal-c5c14d87?mod=economy_more_pos7)

• China’s economy barely grows as recovery fades. The country’s rebound from its Covid-19 reopening has lost momentum. (Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-economy-barely-grows-as-recovery-fades-5652a92a?mod=economy_more_pos8)

• Retail sales rose in June as inflation eased. Sales rose a seasonally-adjusted 0.2%, a slower pace than in May and April. (Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/us-economy-retail-sales-june-2023-ac582986?mod=economy_more_pos6)

• High rates, low supply hinder home buying this summer. Prices edged down in June from last year’s record high. (Wall Street Journal, July 20, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/home-sales-fall-as-would-be-buyers-face-high-rates-low-supply-c4f61963?mod=economy_more_pos3)

• Dow edges higher, its 10th gain in a row. Healthcare and financial stocks this week pushed into positive territory for the year. (Wall Street Journal, July 21, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-markets-dow-news-07-21-2023-ff8385d4)

• Unemployment rate at or near record lows in half of US States. New Hampshire, South Dakota had lowest June jobless rates. But California’s rate rose 0.7 percentage point in last year. (Bloomberg, July 21, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-21/jobless-rates-in-half-of-us-states-are-at-or-near-record-low?srnd=economics-v2)

• Americans in their prime are flooding into the job market. Share of people between 25 and 54 working or seeking jobs rose this year to highest level since 2002. (Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-working-job-market-prime-age-9fdc339b?mod=economy_more_pos2)

• Fed readies another rate hike in pivotal week for Central Banks. ECB tightening may be overshadowed by hints on September plan. BOJ likely to see little need to act on yield control. (Bloomberg, July 22, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-22/interest-rates-fed-readies-another-hike-in-big-week-for-central-banks?srnd=economics-v2)

• Embattled treasury bulls look to fed to spur long-sought rally. Treasury bulls face frustrating wait for a weaker jobs market. Data dependent Fed leaves traders at risk of more yield swings. (Bloomberg, July 22, 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-22/embattled-treasury-bulls-look-to-fed-to-spur-long-sought-rally?srnd=null)