The market’s rocky start to 2022 is testing the mettle of retail traders who dove headfirst into the stock market earlier in the pandemic, Nathan and Hope report.

Why it matters: Last year’s meme stock phenomenon helped usher in a new generation of retail traders who are expected to continue to have a significant influence on the market.

• How active they remain will shape the financial services industry.

Details: Robinhood, the poster child for the meme stock revolution, recently announced it would cut its full-time staff by 9% after its rapid expansion.

• Meanwhile, Fidelity last week said it plans to expand its headcount by more than 50% over the next three years amid growing competition for investor demand.

State of play: Retail trading levels have dropped off after last year’s boom, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

• At the same time, traders are still more “active and potent” than they were before the pandemic, according to the same report.
• While retail traders may have ditched individual meme stocks and penny stocks, they’re pouring into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — particularly those designed to bet on market drops.

What they're saying: Investors have been more cautious over the last several months, Robinhood CFO Jason Warnick told Axios on a call last week.

The big picture: For most of Robinhood’s history, traders were living in an environment of low interest rates, low inflation and rising markets.

• “Our customers are now experiencing all three of these trends going in the opposite direction, perhaps for the first time in their lives,” Warnick said.

Go deeper.

The manufacturing sector is still bustling, but it’s beginning to lose momentum, Nathan writes.

By the numbers: The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing PMI index — a closely watched gauge of the health of manufacturers — hit a 20-month low in April.

• At 55.4%, the figure was lower than March’s 57.1% and is the lowest since it was 55.4% in August 2020.

The big picture: ISM's Timothy Fiore said in a statement that consumer demand remains strong but that there are signs of it “softening.”

• He also pointed to labor shortages as worsening in April, undermining productivity.

Keep in mind: After two years of binge shopping, some consumers are shifting spending back to travel and services.

🔋 The White House will provide $3.1 billion to support electric vehicle battery manufacturing efforts in the U.S. (CNBC)

📍User location data from Grindr collected between 2017 and 2020 was collected by a digital ad network and made available for sale. (WSJ)

Amazon today unveiled a new benefit to help cover employee expenses for certain medical treatments, including abortions, just hours before a union vote failed at a second New York facility, Axios' Pete Gannon writes.

Meanwhile, Starbucks is pushing back at allegations that executives and managers improperly tried to squash organization efforts.

Details: Amazon became the latest company to offer employees benefits intended to circumvent the politicization of abortions and other medical procedures.

• It will provide as much as $4,000 a year to cover travel expenses for employees or dependents covered by insurance who must travel away from home to obtain certain medical treatments, Reuters reported.

Separately, Starbucks is facing dozens of complaints from a union representing its baristas, accusing it of intimidating and even firing workers who are trying to organize.

• Starbucks denied it has acted improperly, saying it is following and simply pointing out the law to employees.

That's a lot of meat.

What's happening: Columbus, Georgia, resident Gayle Dudley was honored as a "Grill Master Legend" for grilling 1 million steaks as a longtime employee of LongHorn Steakhouse, Nathan writes.

• Dudley, who's worked at the Darden Restaurants-owned chain for more than 20 years, received $5,000, a gold chef coat and a surprise celebration to honor her achievement.
• She's the 14th person in the chain's history to reach that milestone.

Nathan's thought bubble: I'm ashamed to admit that's 1 million more steaks than I've grilled.

"Our attendance across the United States is pretty good. ... It's between 50%–60%."