Hello and Happy Birthday to Amazon! The world’s biggest e-commerce company launched as a bookselling site 30 years ago today — now it’s celebrating $24 billion+ worth of US Prime Day sales in just 4 days, up 30% from last year's event. Today we’re exploring:
|
- Inflation watch: Where US prices are rising — and falling — the most.
- Labubu bubble: Pop Mart is expecting a 350% profit jump for the first half of this year.
- Dog days: Australian cartoon “Bluey” is still the most watched show on US streaming services.
|
Have feedback for us? Just hit reply - we'd love to hear from you! |
Tariffs might be starting to show in America’s inflation rate — but where are prices rising the most? |
According to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices rose 2.7% year over year in June — slightly above forecast and the fastest pace since February — with some suggesting that President Trump’s sweeping tariffs may finally be filtering through, nudging up prices on a range of goods.
But beyond the monthly ups and downs, where has inflation hit hardest, and where have prices actually fallen, in the last 12 months? |
The bad news: Food at home is up 2.4% from last year, the fastest rate in nearly two years. Among the biggest contributors are eggs (up 27%) amid avian flu disruptions, while your morning coffee (up 13.4%) and evening steak (up 10.6%) have also gotten pricier on the back of squeezed supplies and tariff jitters.
Electricity bills (up 5.8%) are another sore spot, partly due to AI-hungry data center demand straining outdated infrastructure. Elsewhere, in another sign that tariffs might now be taking hold, import-heavy categories like kitchen and living room furniture (up 5.1%) are climbing fast.
The slightly-less-bad news: The cost of dining out is up 3.8% — still high, but easing from last month. Housing costs rose by the same amount, though that’s the slowest rate since November 2021. And tariff-sensitive categories like apparel and toys remain relatively flat from last year… for now.
The good news: While repairing a car has gotten pricier, fueling one hasn’t, with gasoline prices down 8.3% thanks to surging global oil supply. Meanwhile, it could be a good time to get globe-trotting: airfares are down 3.5% from June 2024 and hotel stays have fallen 3.7%, too.
For homebodies, maybe now’s the opportunity to invest in your favorite pastimes? TVs are 10.1% less expensive than they were — though what that means in reality, as we’ve discussed, might be a little different — while sewing machines and supplies for the craftier-minded have plunged 17.4%. However, that may not last once new tariffs set in.
|
Pop Mart expects 350% profit spike as fan frenzy lifts sales |
Chinese toymaker Pop Mart is expecting at least a 350% increase in net profit and an over 200% jump in revenue for the first half of 2025, the company announced Tuesday.
The 15-year-old Chinese designer toy company has catapulted into the global spotlight, with shoppers lining up for hours to snag its signature Labubu doll — a pointy-eared, mischievous figure with a toothy grin that’s become a collector’s obsession and is often spotted dangling from celebrities’ handbags. |
Since its rocky post-IPO debut in 2020, the company has staged a sharp turnaround, with shares rising nearly 600% over the past 12 months. That’s left Pop Mart with a market cap north of $44 billion, more than the combined value of Sanrio, Hasbro, and Mattel — the toy giants behind Hello Kitty, Transformers, and Barbie, respectively.
The company attributed its massive bottom-line growth not only to rising brand recognition but also to “constant product costs optimization” and “strengthened expense control,” according to Tuesday’s statement. |
|
|
Income investing doesn’t have to be complicated. |
Looking to invest for monthly income, but don't want to navigate a volatile bond market on your own?
Meet the iShares BINC ETF: an expert-managed fund that seeks to limit risk and optimize income. Led by Rick Rieder (awarded Morningstar's Outstanding Portfolio Manager in 2023)1, BINC has a 0.52% Gross Expense Ratio and follows an active strategy that allows the fund to search for income in new and timely places.
The iShares Flexible Income Active ETF (BINC) seeks higher monthly income potential through dividends — but it’s also focused on growth. The fund’s objective is to maximize long-term income by investing in a broad range of harder-to-reach sectors such as debt and income-producing securities. Since inception, BINC has returned more than 1.5x bond market benchmarks — and also it has outperformed those indices on 1-year total annual returns.2 |
|
|
Advertiser’s Disclosure: Performance data represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with market conditions and may be lower or higher when you sell your shares. Current performance may differ from the performance shown. For most recent month-end performance view the ticker page here.
|
“Bluey” is still the biggest thing on US streaming services |
As countless children, parents, and a growing number of adult fans without kids will tell you, the “Bluey” hype has been real for a while.
Now, the Australian animated TV series about a blue heeler puppy is the most streamed show of 2025 so far, having garnered an incredible 25.1 billion minutes of viewing from January to June, per a new Nielsen report. |
“Bluey” was watched more than buzzy hits like HBO’s “The White Lotus” (11.5 billion minutes) and “Squid Game” (15.1 billion), which was streaming giant Netflix’s most watched show and the only original title to break the top 10 in a six-month span dominated by library series, like the 448-episode-strong medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” The bingeable kids show has extended its lead at the top of the Nielsen rankings, having been named the most streamed show of 2024 after racking up 55.6 billion minutes of watch time on its international streamer, Disney+ (not inclusive of broadcast TV views on its native Aussie network, ABC, and Disney Channel).
In fact, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “Bluey” has appeared in Nielsen’s streaming ratings since October 2022 — meaning it’s been a top dog for a whopping 143 consecutive weeks. |
|
|
-
Starbucks is joining the latest return-to-office push, telling corporate workers to come in 4 days a week starting October… or else leave the company with a payout.
-
The 77th Emmy Awards nominations are out: “Severance,”on Apple TV+, tops the list with 27 nods, followed by HBO Max’s “The Penguin” at 24.
-
Goldman Sachs just posted the best stock-trading quarter in history, notching a $4.3 billion haul in Q2.
-
Apple has struck a $500 million deal to purchase rare earths from Pentagon-backed MP Materials, sending the latter’s shares jumping ~20% on the news.
-
Big smoke: Mantis Ventures, the VC firm backed by The Chainsmokers, just raised $100 million for its third fund — bringing total assets under management to $225 million.
|
|
|
-
Boss level: See how your salary compares to America’s highest-paid US CEOs with this interactive chart.
-
And, if that wasn’t humbling enough, wait till you try this chaotic password game from Neal.fun.
|
Off the charts: Which company has seen two of its apps soar to the top of the iOS app charts? [Answer below]. Hint: Free food and bovine-based content are a big draw. |
Not a subscriber? Sign up for free below. |
Advertiser’s disclosures:
1 Rick Rieder, BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, was granted the 2023 Morningstar Award for Investin |
|
|
|
