Inflation hit hard at the wholesale level in June, as producer prices surged a near-record amount from a year ago due to a big jump in energy.  The producer price index, a measure of the prices received for final demand products, increased 11.3% from a year ago.  Of that gain, almost 90% came from a 10% increase in final demand energy costs as prices for oil, natural gas and other products soared during the month.

Google is the latest tech company to hit the brakes on hiring amid tightening Fed monetary policy and recession concerns.  The tech giant will slow hiring this quarter, according to an email to staff from CEO Sundar Pachai. Google will prioritize engineers and other roles it deems critical.  The move is similar to Facebook’s recent plan to scale back on new hires. On June 30th, the social media giant's CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned of an economic downturn.  Earlier in June, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk ordered a hiring pause.  JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon also warned of an economic hurricane ahead as the Federal Reserve continues its process of normalizing interest rates.

A mixed earning report from Delta Airlines dragged all of the airlines lower,  as hot demand for summer travel failed to offset higher costs. Delta operations returned to 82% capacity (vs. 84% forecasted) during the second quarter as adjusted operating revenue rebounded 99% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Delta Air Lines has distinguished itself as the only major airline that has been profitable over the last 12 months.