Good morning investors! Reports show that US stocks tend to gain around Fed's Jackson Hole summer conference; yet the market was red yesterday.
Fun fact: Roughly 1 in 10 U.S. jobs is tied to housing-related activity.
Today we cover:
Housing starts jump
Stocks fall
Income after taxes in each state
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📊 Economy and News
Housing starts jump, permits dip in July
U.S. housing starts rose to 1.428 million, up 6.5 percent m/m, while building permits fell to 1.354 million and completions hit 1.415 million.
The release tightened the spread between starts and permits, hinting at cautious forward pipelines even as builders clear backlogs. Single-family starts rose, while multi-family remained soft, per the same report and coverage.
On the other hand, U.S. home prices declined 0.1% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis, marking the third straight month of price drops. Year-over-year price growth slowed to 2.9%, the lowest rate recorded since Redfin began tracking this data in 2012.
West Palm Beach, Florida saw the steepest monthly decline at 2.6%, followed by San Diego (-2.2%) and Austin, Texas (-1.9%). Conversely, Warren, Michigan led price increases at 1.3%, with Newark, New Jersey (0.7%) and San Jose, California (0.5%) also showing gains.
On an annual basis, New York posted the strongest price growth at 11.8%, followed by Newark (9.3%) and Nassau County, New York (8.3%). The largest yearly price drops occurred in Austin (-4.5%), Tampa, Florida (-4.2%), and Dallas (-2.6%).
Global hits:
Canada’s annual inflation rate eases to 1.7% in July boosting some hopes of rate cut.
US oil and gas M&A activity tripled last year.
China’s land-sale revenues fell 4.6 percent Y/Y in Jan–Jul.
More tariffs? The U.S. Commerce Department announced an expansion of steel and aluminum tariffs, imposing a 50% tariff on over 400 additional product categories, including imported wind turbines, mobile cranes, bulldozers, railcars, furniture, automotive exhaust system parts, and electrical steel for electric vehicles, effective immediately.
This move aims to support the revitalization of American steel and aluminum industries by closing loopholes for tariff circumvention, despite concerns from foreign automakers about insufficient domestic capacity to meet demand.
Reminder: Finance industry bodies call for changes to crypto rules for banks. Also, US patients can now get Ozempic for half price if they can pay cash. Lastly, Robinhood has launched NFL and college football prediction markets.
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📈 Stocks
S&P 500 6,411.37 (-0.59%)
DJIA 44,922.27 (+0.023%)
NASDAQ 21,314.95 (-1.46%)
BRENT CRUDE 65.79 (-1.22%)
* Prices as of Aug 20th, 12:20 AM UTC
Stocks take a break, and Home Depot reports
The S&P 500 pulled back on Tuesday, weighed down by Nvidia shares and a broad decline in technology stocks.
Shares of megacap tech and big-name chipmakers declined. Nvidia shares lost 3.5%, as the company said it’s evaluating a “variety of products” following a Reuters report that the company is developing a new AI chip for China that’s more advanced than its current product.
Meanwhile Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom slipped 5.4% and 3.6%, respectively. Shares of high-flying software stock Palantir dropped more than 9%, making it the S&P 500′s worst performer. The artificial intelligence software provider had a stellar earnings report earlier this month, reporting its first-ever $1 billion revenue quarter.
Other major tech-related names such as Tesla, Meta Platforms and Netflix were also under pressure. On the other hand, Home Depot jumped 3% as the company reported Q2 revenue of $42.92 billion and EPS of $4.73 pre-market, reaffirming full-year guidance. Management cited resilient pro demand and seasonal categories, with inventory turns normalizing.
About Intel: SoftBank will invest $2 billion into Intel. Elsewhere, Lutnick says Intel has to give government equity in return for CHIPS Act funds. The stock has been in the news for a variety of reasons and has jumped 20% in a week.
Can’t miss: Apple has reportedly boosted production in India as the country faces pressure from the White House for buying Russian oil. Also, Viking Therapeutics fell 40% after the company released midstage trial data on its obesity pill that disappointed investors.
Best Buy launched its third-party marketplace, which adds more brands and items to its website and app.
💵 Personal Finance
After-Tax Income by State
Below is a comprehensive list of the after-tax income for a $100,000 salary in each U.S. state, sorted alphabetically, along with the effective state income tax rate:
Alabama: $73,926 (4.81% effective state tax rate)
Alaska: $78,736 (0% effective state tax rate)
Arizona: $76,611 (2.13% effective state tax rate)
Arkansas: $75,506 (3.23% effective state tax rate)
California: $73,409 (5.33% effective state tax rate)
Colorado: $74,996 (3.74% effective state tax rate)
Connecticut: $73,986 (4.75% effective state tax rate)
Delaware: $73,367 (5.37% effective state tax rate)
Florida: $78,736 (0% effective state tax rate)
Georgia: $73,993 (4.74% effective state tax rate)
Hawaii: $72,579 (6.16% effective state tax rate)
Idaho: $74,157 (4.58% effective state tax rate)
Illinois: $73,786 (4.95% effective state tax rate)
Indiana: $75,736 (3% effective state tax rate)
Iowa: $74,936 (3.8% effective state tax rate)
Kansas: $73,445 (5.29% effective state tax rate)
Kentucky: $74,867 (3.87% effective state tax rate)
Louisiana: $76,111 (2.63% effective state tax rate)
Maine: $73,167 (5.57% effective state tax rate)
Maryland: $74,167 (4.57% effective state tax rate)
Massachusetts: $73,736 (5% effective state tax rate)
Michigan: $74,486 (4.25% effective state tax rate)
Minnesota: $73,425 (5.31% effective state tax rate)
Mississippi: $74,877 (3.86% effective state tax rate)
Missouri: $74,917 (3.82% effective state tax rate)
Montana: $73,974 (4.76% effective state tax rate)
Nebraska: $74,461 (4.27% effective state tax rate)
Nevada: $78,736 (0% effective state tax rate)
New Hampshire: $78,736 (0% effective state tax rate)
New Jersey: $74,490 (4.25% effective state tax rate)
New Mexico: $75,113 (3.62% effective state tax rate)
New York: $73,784 (4.95% effective state tax rate)
North Carolina: $75,028 (3.71% effective state tax rate)
North Dakota: $78,024 (0.71% effective state tax rate)
Ohio: $76,702 (2.03% effective state tax rate)
Oklahoma: $74,476 (4.26% effective state tax rate)
Oregon: $70,540 (8.2% effective state tax rate)
Pennsylvania: $75,666 (3.07% effective state tax rate)
Rhode Island: $75,303 (3.43% effective state tax rate)
South Carolina: $74,143 (4.59% effective state tax rate)
South Dakota: $78,736 (0% effective state tax rate)
Tennessee: $78,736 (0% effective state tax rate)
Texas: $78,736 (0% effective state tax rate)
Utah: $74,227 (4.51% effective state tax rate)
Vermont: $74,181 (4.55% effective state tax rate)
Virginia: $73,732 (5% effective state tax rate)
Washington: $78,736 (0% effective state tax rate)
West Virginia: $74,754 (3.98% effective state tax rate)
Wisconsin: $74,551 (4.18% effective state tax rate)
Wyoming: $78,736 (0% effective state tax rate)
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👩🏽⚖️ Legal Stuff
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