US economic data released Thursday painted a stronger picture of consumer resilience, with retail activity rebounding sharply in June and reducing the urgency for monetary easing.

Figures from the US Census Bureau showed Advance Monthly Retail Sales rose 0.6% in June, well above the 0.1% forecast and reversing a revised 0.9% decline in May. Sales excluding autos and gasoline also gained 0.6%, doubling expectations and improving from a flat print the previous month.

A key input for GDP, the retail control group, rose 0.5%, beating the 0.3% estimate and building on a downwardly revised 0.2% increase in May.

Breaking down the components, the Bureau reported that non-store retailers increased by 4.5% y/y, while food services and drinking places rose 6.6% from June 2024.

“Delayed tariff price increases and steady income growth continue to fuel spending despite weak survey data indicating building concerns by households,” said Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide. (LiveSquawk – Continue Reading)

Netflix is due to report second-quarter results after the close of trading Thursday, with Wall Street eagerly anticipating a strong kickoff to media earnings season from the giant streamer.

“Currently, we see no scaled global streaming competitor,” said Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein in a recent note to clients, with an “outperform” rating and a higher stock price target of $1,425. “Outlook remains ironclad.”

Helfstein and other analysts cite positives like viewership gains, a well-positioned ad tier, price hikes in key markets, and a strong programming slate in the second half of the year and beyond driven by hefty and sustained content spending. Netflix, Helfstein believes, can monetize content more effectively than peers. (Deadline – Continue Reading)

Kevin Warsh, a candidate to be the next Federal Reserve chair, said independence for the central bank is “essential.”

But, he added, the Fed under Jerome Powell has strayed into policy areas where it lacks authority.

“History tells us that the independent operations in the conduct of monetary policy is essential,” Warsh said Thursday in an interview on CNBC. “But that doesn’t mean the Fed is independent in everything else it does.” (Bloomberg – Continue Reading)

Currency strategists are preparing for more weakness in the yen if Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling bloc loses its majority in the upcoming upper house election.

Several local Japanese media polls suggest the Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition may fail to win enough seats to retain a majority. But whatever the election outcome, more government spending seems likely. To entice voters, the LDP is dangling cash handouts, while opposition parties are pushing an expensive plan to cut the sales tax. (Bloomberg – Continue Reading)