Axios Closer

August 09, 2021
Today's newsletter is 685 words ... 2½ minutes.
🔔 The dashboard: The S&P 500 fell 0.1%.
- Biggest gainer? Moderna (+17%). Its COVID-19 vaccine was given the green light in Australia for those 18+ — and Switzerland for 12- to 17-year-olds.
- Biggest decliner? Chemical company Air Products and Chemicals (-5%) after reporting profits that fell short of analyst expectations.
1 big thing: Banks loosen up on auto loans
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
It hasn’t been this easy to get a car loan in years.
Why it matters: It comes amid a demand bonanza that got underway at the onset of the pandemic — when traveling by car became the more appealing mode of transportation.
Car loan approval ratings are at the highest since 2015, according to Cox Automotive.
- What's happening: Auto loans are getting cheaper and lengthier, two factors that lower monthly payments — what "most consumers are focusing on, more than anything else," says Cox Automotive economist Jonathan Smoke.
- "Consumers have been consistently seeing better rates every month this year than a year ago — that's really helped offset some of the inflation in vehicle prices," Smoke says.
The big picture: The net percentage of banks making loans harder to get is at the lowest level since 2012 — a sign that lenders are keeping borrowing conditions loose, if not making them looser.
- It's a sharp reversal from last year, when it looked like the economy was on the precipice of disaster.
- Meanwhile, the net share of banks reporting stronger demand for auto loans hit a new pandemic-era high (also the highest in nine years).
But, but, but: "Banks aren't just giving loans to anyone," says Jesse Rosenthal, an analyst at CreditSights.
- Around a third of auto loan originations are going to people with credit scores above 760 — higher than it was trending previously, Rosenthal says.
2. Charted: Many jobs, too few workers


For the first time since the pandemic hit, there are more open jobs than unemployed workers to fill them.
- With U.S. job openings notching (yet another) record high in June, there is less than 1 worker available for each open job, per data out today.
For perspective: The unemployment rate was at a 50-year low the last time America notched this milestone.
- Now the jobless rate is a whole 2 percentage points higher — and by this measure, it’s just as difficult to find workers.
3. What's happened
🍿 AMC — of meme stock fame — said its losses narrowed last quarter, thanks to more movie-goers returning (and eating) as new films were released. (Yahoo Finance)
- There was practically nowhere to go but up compared to last year.
- This time last year, it raked in a mere $900,000 from admission sales. That's rebounded to $233 million.
4. How crypto jammed the Senate
Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
In a sign of the times, cryptocurrency regulations held up a massive infrastructure bill in the U.S. Senate, CoinDesk's Zack Seward writes for Axios.
Catch up quick: A crypto tax reporting amendment to the $1 trillion package sought to bring in some $28 billion in new tax revenue.
The latest: A vote was held today at around 4:30pm ET, potentially determining how the crypto industry evolves in the U.S. — in a bill completely unrelated to crypto.
- The amendment needed unanimous consent to make the cut. An objection from Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) appears to have killed it.
The big picture: As CoinDesk’s Nikhilesh De reports, the crypto industry fears the passage of the bill might lead to businesses and developers leaving the U.S.
- At issue is a provision that would broadly define the term "broker," leading to fears that non-broker entities would be forced to shut down for non-compliance.
5. 🍟 Latest celebrity meal at McDonald's
Source: McDonald's
Rapper Saweetie is the latest musician to get a limited-time McDonald's meal. It lands on menus today.
- What you get: a Big Mac, four-piece Chicken McNuggets, fries, Sprite — plus Tangy BBQ and "Saweetie 'N Sour" sauces.
Why it matters: This has been a go-to strategy for McDonald's since last fall: celebrities curate a meal, with the hope that the hype lures fans to restaurants (and drive-thrus).
- On earnings calls, executives say it works — though they won't quantify it.
Others in the custom-meal club: rapper Travis Scott, reggaeton star J. Balvin and K-pop group BTS.
6. What they're saying
"It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land."— The "strongest statement" a UN-sponsored group has ever made on the central cause of modern climate change. Its new report raises big questions for world leaders — and corporations.
Go deeper: Effects of climate change more severe than we thought
👍 Thanks for reading! Got this email from a family member or friend? Sign up here.
Sign up for Axios Closer

Catch up on the day's biggest business stories and look ahead to important trends. Led by Nathan Bomey.


