This was a HUGE week in the world of economics. A Fed rate increase, GDP and inflation data was released, there were lots of better than expected corporate earnings announcements, and lets not forget that Mega Millions is over $1 billion!

Economics

• The Fed announced a 75 basis point increase in the target Federal Funds rate Wednesday. (CNBC) Ever wonder why the Fed doesn’t move faster to the interest rate it is targeting? Noah Smith discusses what little research there is on this topic.
• GDP fell 0.9% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2022, following a 1.6% decline in the first quarter. (CNBC)
• A second quarter of negative GDP often signals we are in a recession. But no one is claiming that….yet. Here is a WAPO Econ 101 (subscription may be required) post explaining what a recession is, which might be useful to use in class. And this Morningstar article explains why we aren’t in a recession, and this chart breaks down which sectors are up and which are down.

• CNBC covers all of the June economic data that dropped this morning. Things do not appear to be slowing down yet.
  • PCE up 1% (6.8% y/y-highest since 1982)
  • PCE core 0.6% (4.8% y/y)
  • Employment cost index 1.3% (up 5.1% y/y)
  • Consumer spending up 1.1%
  • Personal income up 0.6%

• Speaking of inflation, the jump in car prices has been painful. The Grid explains where these prices are coming from.

Investing

• Markets have had a good week in spite of economic data releases and the Fed’s (expected) interest rate announcement. Better than expected earnings announcements (71% of S&P 500 companies reporting) are also supporting the trend. (CNBC) Here are a few:
  
  • Apple reports record revenues. (Yahoo Finance)
  • Amazon’s revenue beat expectations: net loss attributed to Rivian. (Yahoo Finance)
  • Exxon and Chevron report record quarterly earnings. (CNBC)

Work/Life News

• A recent Credit Karma study found that almost one third of GenZ are living at home with parents or other relatives, and they have no intention of moving out very soon. (NYT)
• The Mega Millions payout will be $1.1billion tonight if anyone matches all six numbers. It has grown to this amount because no one has done so in the last 29 drawings. (AP) What should you do if you win tonight? Marketwatch offers sage advice for anyone winning a lump sum of any size.
• We may have recently witnessed the “Great Resignation,” but in reality, fewer people at or nearing traditional retirement age are actually retiring. People are living longer, retirement age has been pushed out, and inflation are all pushing people to work longer. MarketWatch offers advice on planning accordingly.

About the Author

Beth Tallman

Beth Tallman entered the working world armed with an MBA in finance and thoroughly enjoyed her first career working in manufacturing and telecommunications, including a stint overseas. She took advantage of an involuntary separation to try teaching high school math, something she had always dreamed of doing. When fate stepped in once again, Beth jumped on the opportunity to combine her passion for numbers, money, and education to develop curriculum and teach personal finance at Oberlin College. Beth now spends her time writing on personal finance and financial education, conducts student workshops, and develops finance curricula and educational content. She is also the Treasurer of Ohio Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.