• Markets: You win some, you lose some: Stocks slipped yesterday, but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both managed to clinch winning weeks (the Dow, not so much). On the plus side, investors upvoted Reddit after learning it will join the S&P 500 on Aug. 18.

SHOPPING STALL

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Adobe Stock

If consumers are the lifeblood of the US economy, their type right now is B negative. US retail sales fell far short of expectations last month, sliding 0.6%—their first drop in nine months and the biggest since May 2025.

The Commerce Department’s retail sales report isn’t adjusted for inflation, so when gas prices fall (as they did last month), so do overall sales numbers. But that’s not enough to explain away the dip, because even with that taken into account, sales still decreased in July.

Amazon may be to blame

The online shopping giant moved its massive Prime Day sales event from July to June this year. Walmart+ and Target Circle also held membership deal events in June. So, per the Wall Street Journal:

• Sales at nonstore retailers (mostly online stores) jumped 7.7% in June.
• In July, that number decreased by 2.2%.

Basically, consumers shopped ’til they dropped in June, then stayed on the floor in July, especially once all of the World Cup festivities ended.

It’s still an economic warning sign

And there are others: Consumer sentiment slid about 8% this month, according to preliminary results of the University of Michigan’s monthly consumer survey. The survey results, released yesterday, show consumers are worried that high inflation could continue to eat into their purchasing power.

Plus, the US unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs last month and, outside of the pandemic, the labor participation rate is at its lowest level in 50 years. Plus, while inflation declined last month, the annual rate was still hovering around 3.4%—well above the Fed’s 2% target.

Warsh is watching: If the economic data continues to look like this in the coming weeks, Kevin Warsh and the rest of the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates steady at their next meeting in September.—BC

      

World

Tour de headlines

Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images

⚖️ Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal charges in insurance exec’s murder. Mangione pleaded guilty yesterday to federal stalking charges in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a New York sidewalk. With Thompson’s family in the courtroom, Mangione told the court, “I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan, and he died.” He also said he understood that he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Mangione is scheduled to be sentenced on these federal charges in December. He is also still facing state-level murder charges, but his lawyers are now trying to have those tossed as double jeopardy.

⚽ Jeff Bezos becomes part-owner of Liverpool FC. The Amazon founder’ll never walk alone now that he’s part of a consortium buying a minority stake in the storied soccer football team from its owner Fenway Sports Group. According to the Wall Street Journal, the group is acquiring a ~33% stake in the Premier League team in a deal that values it at $7+ billion. This will be Bezos’s first time as a sports team owner, and the investor group is led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of an Indian steel tycoon, and includes Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and others.