The knock-on effect is severe. China’s economy is forecast to grow at its slowest rate in more than 40 years. Consumer confidence in the UK has fallen to record lows.

The safe dollar is good news for travelers, with a trip to London costing 14% more than a year ago and 16% more in Paris or Rome compared to the euro.

The greenback will not weaken anytime soon as rates continue to strengthen globally, sending shocks to some economies such as Turkey. The U.S. dollar index, which has fallen as investors play on U.S. interest rates, is up 1.9 percent this week alone.

The Federal Reserve minutes indicated that there is more to do to tackle inflation. The variables are how fast and how high the authorities have to go. As their work has become more difficult

S&P 500
It is up 17 percent since mid-June.

The belief that the US is doing better than the rest of the world comes despite some weak economic indicators, such as sluggish home sales. And it’s worth noting that the US was the worst performer of the major G-7 countries, the seven largest developed nations, contracting 0.2 percent in the second quarter.

Some market bulls think that fears of a global recession are overblown and that inflation will disappear on its own.

But regardless of the strong dollar, it still feeds into blue chips. Analysts at

Morgan Stanley

He wrote that a 16 percent jump in the dollar last month represented an 8 percent decline in S&P 500 company earnings.

Now that won’t be a holiday.

–James Ashton

*** Join Jillian Berman, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of MarketWatch Enterprise, and Betty Mayotte, Founder, Student Loan Counselors Institute, for a discussion of current student loan news and share their expertise on foreclosure, debt forgiveness, and more. Any other student loan-related questions on your mind. Register here.

***

The US is preparing to shift the costs of the Covid vaccine to the private sector

The Biden administration is preparing to shift the cost of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments to the private sector. From the end of 2020, the policy of purchasing and distributing the drugs at no cost will end. The move could raise prices and increase insurance premiums, but it would help fund vaccine makers.

• The Department of Health and Human Services will meet with drugmakers, pharmacies and state health departments around August 30. Compensation and coverageregulatory issues and nearly 30 million uninsured people accessing immunization coverage, The Wall Street Journal reported.

• The change came after congressional Republicans blocked the Biden administration. He has asked for up to 30 billion dollars To buy more covid vaccines and treatments. Lawmakers who opposed the request wanted to use existing Covid-aid money.

• Eli Lilly
  
  It said it will begin selling its Covid-19 monoclonal antibody treatment to states, hospitals and other health care providers in early August. of the company Sales of covid antibodies It decreased by 13% in the second quarter.

• Pfizer
  
  Its covid-19 treatment, paxlovide, reported sales of $8.1 billion in the second quarter. Journal as February, Pfizer and

  Modern
  
  And other companies have reported At least 79 billion dollars Total sales of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments for 2021.

What’s next? The Biden administration is looking to offer updated incentives to combat Omicron’s differences starting in September. It has deals for 66 million doses from Moderna and 105 million doses from Pfizer.

–Josh Nathan-Kazis and Janet H. Cho

***

Bit cable cheats for viewers that will be released in July

Americans have spent more time watching streaming programs on such platforms

Netflix
,

Google YouTube and

Warner Bros. Discovery
S

HBO Max debuted in July, highlighting the media industry’s growing battle for viewers, according to Nielsen data, rather than cable or broadcast TV.

• People have passed the record 34.8% of their viewing time Compared to 34.4% of cable viewing on streaming platforms and 21.6% on broadcast, Nielsen said. Total time spent streaming was up 22.6 percent from last year, broadcast TV time was down 9.8 percent, and cable viewing time was down 8.9 percent.

• Viewership is close to average. 191 billion minutes per week Distribution of content in July. netflix,

  Walt Disney
  
  – Controls Hulu, YouTube and

  Amazon.com
  S

  Prime Video held record-high shares in July, beating June records.

• It was Netflix. Most viewed streaming serviceNielsen added 8 percent in July, with nearly 18 billion minutes watched on Stranger Things.

• Spread TV audience share It dropped to 21.6% In July, it was down about 10% from a year ago, due to a decline in new content and a poor comparison to last year’s Summer Olympics viewing numbers.

What’s next? Streaming companies have competed fiercely to produce content that engages viewers and keeps them coming back. The industry is seeing more subscriber churn, and some households are cycling through different streaming services, according to The Wall Street Journal.

–Janet H. Cho

***

July home sales fell amid ‘housing collapse’

July existing home sales fell for the sixth straight month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 billion, down 5.9% from June and the slowest pace since the early months of the pandemic, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Rising mortgage rates have lost buyer interest.

• “We are in Housing collapseLawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, told the Wall Street Journal. High prices and rising interest rates have made home buying less affordable than it has been in decades.

• The average house It sold for $403,800, up 10.8% year over year but down from June’s record of $413,800. New single-family home construction reported earlier this week fell to the lowest level since June 2020 in July, signaling pessimism among homebuilders.

• Houses only cost. 14 days on the marketYun has been briefly tied to June since NR began tracking that measure in 2011. Housing supply remains tight, in part because buyers are unwilling to sell homes or refinance at low prices, Yun said.

• The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is 5.13%, according to Freddie Mac. According to Redfin, it has its share of canceled home purchase deals. Maximum from April 2020. Homebuilders saw more cancellations last quarter.

What’s next? More housing information to come next week. New home sales for July are released Tuesday, and sales are pending Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s filing index will also be released on Wednesday.

–Shaina Mishkin and Janet H. Cho

***

Meme stocks went wild. Cohen confirmed the sale of Bed Bath shares.

Activist investor Ryan Cohen has confirmed that he has sold all of his shares

Bed bath and beyond

This week ended in obscurity amid a meme-fueled rally held by his RC Ventures for $178 million. The profit from the sale was $58 million, MarketWatch reported.

• Cohen, founder

  Chewing
  
  and chairman

  Stop the game
  ,

  He had 7.78 million shares and 1.67 million call options in Bed Bath. The sale started on Tuesday and ended on Wednesday As the stock increases. It then fell 19% on Thursday and fell 44% after hours.

• BedBath’s shares have dominated discussion on WallstreetBates, a Reddit forum where retail investors trade ideas and others to make stock sales. Very short stocksThe so-called mm traders.

• Weber
  ,

  Another stock with a large amount of short interest, jumped 25% on Thursday, his High one day profit. This comes despite an unexpected quarterly loss reported in early August, including job cuts and a dividend freeze.

• AMC Entertainment
  
  He said he is “very optimistic” about demand in the fourth quarter and next year, despite competition

  Cineworld
  S

  The opinion that it assumes Low attendance in November Due to light film release calendar. AMC shares fell 9% Thursday and 2.7% after hours.

What’s next? He told him to take a bath.Baron On Wednesday, it was working to improve liquidity, make strategic changes and improve operations to win back customers, including working with external financial advisers and lenders.

–Liz Moyer and Connor Smith

***

Do you remember this week’s news? Check out our quiz on the week’s news below. Tell us how you did it by email. thebarronsdaily@barrons.com.

1. President Joe Biden signed the De-Inflation Act this week. The Act includes which of the following:

A. Provides tax credits to encourage clean energy adoption

b. Medicare allows you to negotiate the price of prescription drugs

c. $80 billion will be given to the IRS to improve enforcement

d. All of the above

2. Walmart beat expectations for the second quarter and said it was attracting more price-conscious shoppers, helping it gain market share in every retail category.

A. Grocery store

b. Sports equipment

c. Home decorations

d. Women’s fashion

3. Third Point’s Dan Loeb reveals the hedge fund’s take on Walt Disney shares, which Disney CEO Bob Chapek has urged to divest:

A. Pixar

b. ESPN

c. Marvel Entertainment

d. None of the above

4. Activist investor Ryan Cohen made a $58 million profit by selling all of his shares in a company owned by RC Ventures.

A. Stop the game

b. Chewing

c. Bed bath and beyond

d. AMC Entertainment

5. Americans will spend more time watching broadcast programming than watching cable or broadcast television in July, according to Nielsen. Which was the most viewed streaming platform?

A. up

b. Netflix

c. YouTube

d. HBO Max

Answers: 1 (d); 2 (a); 3 (b); 4 (c); 5(b)

–Baron’s staff

***

– Newsletter edited by Liz Moyer, Steve Goldstein and Rupert Steiner