For: August 3, 2026
>>Watching Wall Street
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after stocks closed higher on Friday to wrap up the final trading session of July. Amazon surged 15 percent after reporting better than expected second quarter results. Investors looked past rising bond yields as chip stocks extended their rally to end the week. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 276 points to 52-485. The S&P 500 added 52 points to 74-89. The Nasdaq rose 251 points to 25-373.
>>Some Improvement Expected In Monthly Jobs Report
(Undated) -- Coming up in the business week ahead - jobs data. We'll get the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey on Tuesday, followed by ADP's monthly hiring survey on Wednesday. The payroll processor only looks at private employers, but economists consider it a good indication of what to expect from the big headline story of the week - the monthly jobs report. That's due to be released by the Labor Department on Friday. Most analysts estimate the economy added about 85-thousand new, non-farm payroll jobs in July. That would be a notable increase from the 57-thousand jobs added the month prior, although the unemployment rate is forecast to tick slightly up to four-point-three percent.
>>Consumer Sentiment Rises Nearly 12% In July
(Ann Arbor, MI) -- Consumer sentiment jumped in July as inflation fears eased. The University of Michigan's final reading for last month rose nearly 12 percent from June. The survey's chief economist said despite the recent gains overall sentiment is still down eleven percent from a year ago. She noted consumers remain focused on pocketbook issues after five years of high inflation and high prices. One-year inflation expectations dipped slightly to their lowest readying since March.
>>Americans Hold Record New Vehicle Debt
(Santa Monica, CA) -- New car prices are causing buyers to go deeper into debt to finance purchases. Data from Edmunds shows almost 30-percent of new car buyers are still paying off loans for their trade-ins. Edmunds said the average amount of remaining balances on cars traded in the second quarter of 2026 was nearly seven-thousand dollars. That's the highest for a second quarter on record.
>>Ford Recalls 47k Trucks To Fix Rear Camera Display Issue
(Detroit, MI) -- Ford is recalling over 47-thousand F-150 and F-250 pickup trucks. A spokesperson says the rear camera's display screen blocks when the menu is open when reversing. It violates a federal rule and may cause an accident. Owners will be sent a letter starting this month. An over-the-air software update may fix this issue for most trucks. For more details, go to the NHTSA webpage.
