Contentious talks on the geopolitical front are also on the horizon, as the U.S. and China prepare to assess their phase-one trade agreement. Delegates led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are clearing their calendars for a discussion to take place on or around Aug. 15, six months after the agreement took effect, this according to Bloomberg.

While Disney continued to feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sectors like its parks business, where revenue tanked 85% from a year earlier, CEO Bob Chapek announced a new streaming service that will launch in fiscal 2021 under the Star brand acquired from Fox.  In total, Disney now has 100M paid subscribers across its streaming services, which include Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. Disney+ reached 60.5M paid subscribers, hitting a goal of 60M-90M subscriptions by 2024, four years early. (SA)

The move to get displaced workers back to their jobs slowed sharply in July, with private payrolls increasing by just 167,000, ADP reported Wednesday.  That total was well below the 1 million expected from economists surveyed by Dow Jones and represented a tumble from the 4.3 million created in June, according to the report.  One bright spot was that the June total was revised sharply higher from the initial estimate. However, that month, combined with May’s 3.3 million increase, still leaves the jobs market well short of the 19.7 million positions lost in March and April as the U.S. economy went into shutdown mode. (CNBC)

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Josh Fenili.