A Very Hump Days 4th of July 🇺🇸 Personal Updates, Payroll Data, and Financial News!

Happy Wednesday all,

Humphrey here! It is the week of the 4th of July! 🇺🇸

If you’re in Canada, happy Canada Day! And if you’re in the UK… well I don’t have anything to say to you. Just kidding of course, I love anyone and everyone tuning in.

For my holiday, I am going to a friends house to enjoy the sun and hop in the pool. My responsibility of the day is to bring chips and dip. I personally love these corn chips that have just a little bit of soy-sauce infused in them. They are literally so addicting. My other favorite 4th of July snack is definitely a rice krispie treat, if there are red white and blue rice krispies, of course. Would love to hear what you’re up to this holiday weekend!

In personal news: I am still training for my Chicago Marathon on October 12th, there are roughly 14 weeks left and this Saturday calls for an 11 mile long run. The workouts have been getting tougher and tougher. I still need to raise about $2200 to reach my goal, so if you want to support the cause — financial literacy for teens, and get any finance question answered directly from me - you can do so by donating here. For any donations above $25, I will be answering any question or personal situation you need answered via email.

Lastly, I’m looking for a new video game to play - if you have any good ones, shoot them my way. I used to enjoy Diablo, League of Legends, Warcraft, and Final Fantasy.

Enjoy this week’s Hump Days!

- Humphrey & Rickie

👀 Eye-Catching Headlines

Tesla reports 14% decline in vehicle deliveries, marking second straight year-over-year drop (CNBC)

The private sector lost 33,000 jobs in June, badly missing expectations for a 100,000 increase, ADP says (CNBC)

Pentagon halts weapons shipment to Ukraine amid concerns over U.S. stockpile (CNBC)

Why Vanguard, Champion of Low-Fee Investing, Joined the ‘Private Markets’ Craze (WSJ)

Iran Suspends Cooperation With U.N. Atomic Agency (WSJ)

Del Monte Foods Files for Bankruptcy With Plans to Pursue Sale (WSJ)

The Weekly Brief

US Private Payrolls Fall for First Time in Two Years in ADP Data

• US private-sector employment unexpectedly decreased by 33,000 in June according to ADP, marking the first decline in over two years. The downturn was primarily driven by a significant 66,000 drop in services payrolls, particularly in professional/business services and health care/education.

• According to Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, the job losses stem not from widespread layoffs, but from a corporate hesitancy to hire and replace departing workers as companies look to align their headcount with slowing economic activity.

• The surprise decline has raised concerns about a more significant labor market slowdown, prompting some economists to lower their forecasts for the upcoming government payrolls report.

  • The report also highlighted that average payroll growth over the last three months was the weakest since the early pandemic period.

Tesla Sales Fall 13%, Putting Carmaker on Course for Annual Decline

• Tesla saw a significant downturn in global sales for the second consecutive quarter, with vehicle deliveries falling by 13% to 384,122 compared to the same period last year. '

  • This leaves the electric vehicle manufacturer with a substantial deficit of nearly 110,000 cars to overcome in the latter half of the year to prevent a second straight annual sales decline.

• The anticipated boost from a redesigned Model Y was not enough to offset these pressures. Furthermore, promised new, more affordable models have yet to be released, leading analysts to speculate about potential delays.

• As a result, most analysts now project that Tesla's annual deliveries will fall for the second year in a row, with an average estimate of around 1.65 million vehicles for 2025, down from 1.79 million the previous year.

  • In response to these challenges, Elon Musk is taking on more direct oversight of the company's sales operations in the US and Europe following a key executive's departure.

Apple, Alphabet and Tesla are Holding the S&P 500 Rally Back

• In 2025, the S&P 500's overall gains are being significantly dampened by the poor performance of three of its most influential companies: Apple, Alphabet, and Tesla.

  • These stocks have fallen 17%, 7%, and 26% respectively, creating a collective drag of more than 120 points on the market-capitalization-weighted index.

• According to Bloomberg data, if these three companies had simply remained flat for the year, the S&P 500's annual gain would be approximately two percentage points higher than its current 5%.

• The reasons for their decline vary, from Apple's struggles with AI development and tariff concerns to fears that AI will disrupt Alphabet's search business and a slump in Tesla's electric vehicle sales.

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