Controversy propelled Jason Aldean to the pinnacle of popular music Tuesday, when his song "Try That in a Small Town" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Why it matters: The song's ongoing success, driven by streams and digital sales, shows it has become a touchstone in the nation's culture wars.
Fitch Ratings on Tuesday downgraded America's long-term foreign currency rating, citing the country's deteriorating fiscal position — and the frequently chaotic process driving governance decisions.
State of play: Fitch cut the country's default rating from a pristine AAA to the next level down, AA+. The ratings agency said rising debt levels and a polarized political culture is making the U.S. a less dependable payor of its debts.
The agency had previously put the country on downgrade watch.
Why it matters: Although largely symbolic, Fitch's decision signals Washington's "steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters."
The latest debt ceiling standoff was marked by weeks of infighting and uncertainty that brought the world's largest economy to the brink of default. The eventual agreement only postponed the day of reckoning until 2025.
Flashback: In 2011, Standard & Poor's famously cut the U.S.'s credit rating from AAA to AA+, a controversial episode that marked the country's first-ever downgrade, which temporarily riled Wall Street.
Stock futures fell in after-hours trading on Tuesday, reflecting renewed investor jitters. Markets have been mostly bullish over the waning probability of a recession and solid second-quarter earnings.
What they're saying: "The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management," Fitch said in a statement.
Fitch also called out Washington's undependable budgeting, "tax cuts and new spending initiatives" contributing to repeated debt increases, and "limited progress in tackling medium-term challenges related to rising social security and Medicare costs due to an aging population."
However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pushed back against Fitch's decision. In a statement, the former Federal Reserve chair wrote that "I strongly disagree" with the decision, blasting it as "arbitrary and based on outdated data."
She said the country has "shown improvement over the course of this Administration," including infrastructure investments, the debt ceiling increase and economic growth.
Treasury securities, Yellen said, will remain the "world's preeminent safe and liquid asset."
The big picture: Sales of its COVID vaccine and its COVID treatment Paxlovid led to skyrocketing revenue for Pfizer during the heights of the pandemic.
The graveyard of upstart online sportsbooks is filling up as the digital gambling market consolidates around the biggest players with the deepest pocketbooks and brand recognition.
Why it matters: Gambling operators are engaged in a digital gold rush to grab market share as more states legalize online sports wagering.
Surging international travel demand is fueling record applications and long waits for Global Entry, a program that promises "expedited processing" when returning from abroad.
Why it matters: Call it the summer of "revenge travel" part two with COVID-19 restrictions largely a thing of the past and travelers wanting to make up for delayed trips.
NATO has raised more than €1 billion from certain member nations for a fund that will invest in deep tech startups, including those that developing technologies that could have military or defense applications.
Why it matters: This appears to be the first-ever "multi-sovereign" investment fund.
Investing in stocks or opening retirement savings accounts has long been elusive for many Latinos, but social media and podcasts that offer culturally relevant financial coaching are turning that on its head.
Why it matters: U.S. Latinos' economic power is growing, yet they are less likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to have savings, retirement and non-retirement investment accounts.
Box to Box Films, the U.K.-based production company behind some of Netflix's biggest sports hits, is looking to raise roughly $30 million, sources told Axios.
Why it matters: The explosive success behind several of Box to Box Film's shows has not only inspired more streamers to consider sports docuseries, but it's fundamentally changed the popularity of several sports.
The latest data on job openings and turnoverout Tuesday shows how the steam is coming outof the U.S. labor market. It's happening so exceptionally slowly and painlessly that it's easy not to notice.
Why it matters: This gradual shift away from the ultra-tight labor market of 2021 is reducing inflationary pressure and mitigating frustrations caused by labor shortages. Yet it's leaving workers in a broadly favorable position and happening without large-scale job losses.
German stocks are at record highs, while their U.S. cousins remain short of such levels.
Why it matters: TSMINTE (the stock market is not the economy). German GDP was stagnant in the second quarter, showing zero growth rather than the 0.3% growth that economists had expected.
Whatever you think of Elon Musk personally, you have to give him credit for, more than anybody else, moving the world from the internal combustion past to the EV future. Or do you?
Why it matters: A narrative is now emerging that Musk might have actually done more harm than good for the EV industry as a whole. That narrative, however, largely ignores the crucial role played by the stock market.
Purveyors of lab-grown meat — who prefer the term "cell-cultivated," to avoid the mad-scientist-with-a-test-tube image — foresee a world where our plates are full of steak but animal slaughter is largely a thing of the past.
Why it matters:Investors are pouring money into the sector and its promise of cruelty-free meals that are (maybe) better for the environment, but many unknowns remain.
Driving the news: The complaint accuses the hate speech watchdog of "using flawed methodologies to advance incorrect, misleading narratives." The CCDH said in an online post earlier Monday that "Musk's lawyers have threatened CCDH with baseless legal action over our work exposing the rise in hate & lies on Twitter."
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