Someone’s getting played—don’t let it be you
Dear Friend,
The S&P 500 is soaring, the economic indicators are flashing warning lights, and Wall Street strategists are changing forecasts faster than Biden changes ice cream flavors.
No one can explain the rally—except maybe vibes and a touch of pixie dust.
Meanwhile, the Leading Economic Index keeps dipping, consumer confidence is dragging, and tariffs are finally squeezing prices (and yes, even bananas).
GM ate $1B in tariff costs, and recession talk is starting to feel less “if” and more “when.”
Keep reading this edition of the Everlasting Wealth Insider Report to find out what’s driving markets—and how long the sugar high might last.
Jeremy Blossom
Editor in Chief, Everlasting Wealth
MARKETS
MARKET HEADLINES
🚗 AutoNation stock climbed after beating earnings expectations with strong growth across all car sales segments and a successful $700 million securitization by its finance arm.
📉 Charter Communications shares dropped after quarterly earnings missed forecasts despite steady mobile additions, as losses in core services and a pending Cox merger raised investor concerns.
💻 Nvidia stock dipped slightly as investors await major tech earnings next week, with continued AI infrastructure spending expected to reignite the rally.
🏥 Centene stock plunged after a surprise quarterly loss and higher-than-expected medical costs, worsening investor sentiment amid a broader slump in the health insurance sector.
🎬 Paramount shares rose as its merger with Skydance received FCC approval, though investors remain wary about challenges facing Paramount+ and future content spending.
📉 Bitcoin and other cryptos declined as profit-taking set in following recent highs, with analysts watching key support levels and upcoming Senate action on crypto regulation.
🏦 Investors were skeptical of an $8.6 billion all-stock merger between Pinnacle and Synovus, sending both regional bank stocks lower despite projected earnings benefits.
🥫 Nestlé may sell off some underperforming supplement brands as part of a broader trend of big food companies reshaping portfolios amid weak sales and shifting consumer habits.
🛠️ Honeywell shares fell despite strong earnings and guidance, as investors digested mixed signals around core business growth and upcoming company break-up plans.
🔻 Dow Inc. slashed its dividend in half due to sustained industry weakness and disappointing earnings, sending its stock plummeting as the company braces for a slow recovery.
Wall Street’s Best Strategy? Throw a Dart and Look Confident
So stocks are soaring—and no one can explain why. Seriously, nobody knows.
We’re getting slapped with record-high tariffs, recession fears are up, earnings estimates are down, and yet the S&P 500 is just out here breaking records like it’s on a sugar high.
Wall Street “strategists” (read: highly-paid coin flippers) keep revising their targets like they’re tracking a UFO.
Goldman’s David Kostin has changed his year-end call more times than Biden’s changed ice cream flavors.
The media says things like “the market’s climbing a wall of worry,” which is just Wall Street code for “we have no clue.”
Honestly, it’s starting to feel like the stock market runs on vibes, blind hope, and maybe a little pixie dust.
At this point, your best bet might be to throw a dart at a stock chart and pray—Wall Street probably is.
STOCKS 2 WATCH
↗️ Volkswagen: Despite slashing its full-year financial outlook due to $1.5 billion in tariff-related losses during the first half, the German carmaker’s shares climbed nearly 4%.
↘️ Intel: The chipmaker reported a deeper quarterly loss and announced plans to cut 15% of its workforce as it shifts focus toward the competitive AI chip space. Shares fell over 4% in premarket trading.
↗️ Paramount Global: Shares advanced more than 2% ahead of the open after the FCC signed off on its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, putting the deal on track to close in the coming weeks.
↘️ Puma: Shares of the athletic brand plunged 15% in Germany after it projected a double-digit annual sales decline and warned that new U.S. tariffs could shrink profits by about $94 million.
↗️ Deckers Outdoor: The maker of Hoka running shoes and Ugg boots blew past Wall Street estimates with its latest quarterly report. Shares surged 11% on strong sales performance.
Fact of the Week
During the darkest days of the 1930s, a man named Charles Darrow sold a game where players could buy property, charge rent, and dominate the economy—an ironic fantasy in a time of real-world bank failures and breadlines. Monopoly became a massive hit and was later bought by Parker Brothers, helping Darrow become the first millionaire game designer.
ECONOMY
Economy’s Flashing Yellow, but D.C. Still Thinks It’s Green
Well, the economic tea leaves are getting harder to ignore—the Leading Economic Index just dipped again in June, down 0.3%, and that makes it a 2.8% drop for the year so far.
Translation: things are slowing down, no matter how loud the White House yells “greatest economy ever!”
The only thing propping the numbers up is the stock market, which, let’s be honest, has been running on caffeine and blind optimism.
Consumer confidence is in the basement, manufacturing orders are weak, and jobless claims keep creeping up.
And those wonderful tariffs? Yep, they’re finally biting, pushing prices higher and giving consumers even more reasons to sit on their wallets.
The experts still won’t say the word “recession,” but they’re starting to look real nervous.
Basically, we’re cruising into the second half of 2025 with warning lights flashing and the media still acting like it’s just a cloudy day.
Buckle up—this slow burn could get spicy.
ECONOMIC HEADLINES
📉 Tariff worries proved milder than expected as companies like Boston Beer, Deckers, and Intel reported better-than-feared earnings despite rising trade costs.
🏦 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stocks are soaring even though officials say the mortgage giants will likely remain in government conservatorship for the foreseeable future.
🚗 General Motors is aggressively buying back its undervalued stock, betting big on its strong free cash flow despite tariff-related headwinds.
🛑 Fears of 1970s-style stagflation are overblown, as today’s resilient job market and competent Fed policy make that scenario unlikely.
⚖️ The Federal Reserve faces rare internal dissent and political pressure, threatening Chair Jerome Powell’s authority just months before his term ends.
🤝 Trump’s trade deal with Japan may become a template, as other countries eye similar tariff reductions by offering major U.S. investments.
🧍♂️💥 The U.S. economy may be suspended midair like Wile E. Coyote, as former central banker Raghuram Rajan warns that delayed shocks from tariffs and policy shifts are still to come.
🚂 A transcontinental railroad merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern could reshape U.S. freight, possibly triggering a rival CSX-BNSF deal.
💸 The new stablecoin law may ignite a financial crisis, as it increases banking system risks and accelerates capital flight while paradoxically strengthening dollar dominance.
🤖 AI investment is exploding, with Google, Trump, and Big Tech all-in, pushing U.S. spending toward trillions as the race for dominance heats up.
Trivia
Which U.S. tax-advantaged account is specifically designed to help individuals save for retirement?
A. HSA
B. 401(k)
C. ESA
D. FSA
E. UGMA
Scroll for the answer
BUSINESS
Trump’s Tariffs Hit Corporate Wallets First—But the Checkout Line Is Next
Well, it turns out “Mexico will pay for it” has evolved into “Nike and General Motors will eat the bill… for now.”
Trump’s sky-high tariffs have already raked in $55 billion this year, but most of the pain is being felt by U.S. companies that are swallowing the costs to avoid ticking off price-sensitive customers.
GM alone dropped $1 billion to cover tariffs last quarter. Walmart’s trying to hold the line on prices (with Trump breathing down their neck), but even they had to raise banana prices—bananas!
Meanwhile, florists, toy makers, and shoe brands are getting squeezed harder than a tube of imported toothpaste.
But don’t get too comfy—price hikes are coming, and when they hit, it won’t just be corporate America feeling the tariff burn.
Answer
Which U.S. tax-advantaged account is specifically designed to help individuals save for retirement?
B. 401(k)
A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan that allows employees to contribute a portion of their pre-tax earnings to investment accounts, often with employer matching.
Contributions grow tax-deferred, and taxes are paid upon withdrawal, typically during retirement.
The 401(k) is a key component of many Americans’ retirement planning and has largely replaced traditional pensions.
It is regulated by the IRS and subject to annual contribution limits and withdrawal rules.
