Morning Download from Invincible Money 

Personal finance + economics + markets

Good morning investors! Yesterday was an exciting day with the stock market giving some surprises and the economy continuing to grow. Let’s start today’s newsletter with this interesting stat:

• The S&P 500 has returned about 10.7% on average per year since its introduction in 1957.

It continues to be a great investment, but you need to choose the right stocks or invest in an index fund.

Today we cover:

• Labor market shows positive signs

• Apple set to go down?

• Affordable metro areas in the US

📊 Economy 

The labor market is growing

Layoffs and job vacancies edged lower in June indicating a growing labor market.

June recorded 9.58 million new openings, edging lower from the downwardly revised 9.62 million in the month before.

Layoffs also nudged down reaching 1.53 million after recording 1.55 million in May. Quits saw a noticeable decline of 0.2 percentage points.

A few other things:

• America’s first new nuclear reactor in about seven years is now operational.

• Joe Biden threatens to fire employees who decline to take personal time off.

• Consumer-focused companies record high profits proving inflation cannot stop buyers.

📰 News

State Street reduces fees

Asset management firm State Giant has decided to reduce the fee users pay for a number of ETFs, including fixed income ETFs, US stock ETFs, and foreign stocks ETFs.

Here’s what we know about these ETFs:

• Combined, these funds hold close to $77 billion in assets.

• The new change takes effect today (Aug. 1).

Reduced fund costs can attract more investors and make ETFs more attractive. Due to rising competition, several companies have slashed fees in the last few years and more may follow.

Quick hits:

• X, formerly known as Twitter, officially sues research the Center for Countering Digital Hate for “unlawfully accessing data from Twitter to falsely claim it had statistical support showing the platform is overwhelmed with harmful content.”

• Starting with some layoffs, Google plans to revamp Assistant with the help of AI.

📈 Stocks

S&P 500 4,576.43 (-0.27%)
DJIA 35,630.53 (0.20%)
NASDAQ 15,718 (-0.25%)
VIX 13.93 (2.20%)
* Prices as of Aug 2nd, 12:20 AM EST

Apple expected to have another mixed earning season

Apple will report earnings on Thursday after the bell but analysts are not very hopeful.

Wall Street expects the giant to post its third consecutive quarterly revenue decline. Sales are expected to fall to $81.7 billion, down about 2.3% from the previous year.

The stock has had a tremendous year and is up over 50% so far in 2023. However, investors are expecting the company to suffer a blow as the June period is typically its slowest quarter of the year.

The company has shied away from giving guidance for a while and investors will look at forecasts that indicate where the company is heading.

Major movers:

• Arista Networks Inc (19.6%) up due to its better-than-expected results.

• Global Payments Inc (9.5%) up following the second-quarter earnings announcement.

• Zebra Technologies Corp (-17.2%) tanked due to the company posted disappointing results for the second quarter.

• Rockwell Automation Inc( -7.5%) down due to a disappointing earnings report.

🔐 Crypto

Bitcoin $29,197 (-0.11%)
Ethereum $1,848 (-0.42%)
Total market cap $1.22 (-0.08%)
* Prices as of Aug 2nd, 12:20 AM EST

Ripple and Coinbase cases get complicated

"Some crypto assets are securities," announces U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff.

“Cryptocurrencies are considered securities regardless of how they are sold,” said the judge complicating SEC’s litigation with both Coinbase and Ripple.

According to the documents submitted by the SEC, Coinbase had engaged in the trade of securities, an allegation the company declined. This opinion comes after a judgment from the same district court that said Ripple may not be "categorized as a security in all circumstances."

The SEC has continued to fight trading platforms trying to prove that some cryptocurrencies available on online platforms are securities.

💵 Personal Finance

The cheapest and most expensive metro areas in the US for a single family rental

Single-family rentals are expensive and prices are expected to remain high as more and more Americans choose to rent due to high mortgage rates.

A report from national real estate brokerage HouseCanary analyzed single-family detached listings and identified the most expensive and most affordable metro areas to rent in.

Most expensive metro areas:

• Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Anaheim, California: $4,984

• San Diego; Carlsbad, California: $4,862

• Naples, Immokalee, and Marco Island, Florida: $4,821

• Bridgeport, Stamford, and Norwalk, Connecticut: $4,750

• San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara, California: $4,629

Most affordable metro areas:

• Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Conway, Arkansas: $1,267

• Montgomery, Alabama: $1,394

• Birmingham and Hoover, Alabama: $1,441

• Louisville and Jefferson County: $1,492

• Cleveland and Elyria, Ohio: $1,506

Due to such huge differences, about 40% of Americans are planning to move this year. However, there are some hidden costs that one has to consider.

You will not only have to pay your agent but also to the moving company. Plus, it costs to find a new job. Moving might be more suitable for people who already have a job in the new city or who work remotely.

If you’re planning to move to a new city then do some research and know possible issues you may face when moving to a different city, state, or country. The video below does a good of explaining some common issues people face when moving:

💰 Be a Better Investor

👩🏽‍⚖️ Legal Stuff
Nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Always do your own research and think for yourself.