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Good afternoon. Here's what you should know today, July 30: | |
- A soft landing is in sight for the U.S. economy
- Trucking giant Yellow is preparing for bankruptcy
- Ukraine's allies want the backing of developing nations
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 | | The U.S. Coast Guard's Healy icebreaker in Juneau, Alaska. PHOTO: Angela Owens for The Wall Street Journal | | |
1. America's military is lagging behind its rivals in the race for the melting Arctic. | |
| Once a lonely and largely impassable maritime expanse where countries worked together to extract natural resources, the Arctic is increasingly contested territory. As sea ice melts and traffic increases (🔐 read for free) on the southern edges of the Arctic Ocean, governments are maneuvering in ways that mirror the great-power rivalries seen in lower latitudes. In recent months, Russian activity has increased in Arctic waters, and U.S. officials and analysts say China is sharing satellite and electronic intelligence from the region with Moscow. In response, the U.S. is beefing up its presence, but it has has fewer icebreakers and ports, and less experience. | |
| WSJ Series | The U.S. Is Not Yet Ready for the Era of 'Great Power' Conflict (Read) | |
2. To see what an economic soft landing looks like, search no further than business hiring. | |
| Parts of the U.S. economy are cooling, just as the Federal Reserve would like to see to combat inflation. Yet the key to a measured, inflation-busting slowdown that doesn't sink the economy lies in whether companies hold on to workers or lay them off. The answer, so far, is clear: They are making a priority of keeping workers. July's jobs report on Friday will offer a fresh look at whether employers are continuing to resist large-scale staffing cuts. | |
| The Outlook: Why the Drivers of Lower Inflation Matter (Read) | |
3. Everyday investors are thriving in a world awash in yield. | |
| Interest rates are hovering at their highest level in more than two decades. For individual investors, that's been an unexpected blessing. Although it is more expensive for consumers to borrow money now, they also have more options to put their cash to work. American households are earning an extra $121 billion from income on investments annually versus a year ago, according to Commerce Department data through June. In the coming days, investors will be parsing earnings reports from the likes of Apple, Amazon and Starbucks for insights into where consumers are spending their money as inflation eases and interest rates rise. | |
| Wall Street to Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive: Start Moving Units (Read) | |
4. Trucking giant Yellow is on the verge of collapse. | |
| The 99-year-old company is known for its cut-rate prices and has more than 12,000 trucks moving freight across the country for Walmart, Home Depot and many smaller businesses. What it couldn't deliver was consistent service for customers or profits for investors. Wrecked by a string of mergers that left it saddled with debt and stalled by a standoff with the Teamsters union, the company is preparing to file for bankruptcy and in talks to sell off all or parts of the business. It could shut down within days. | |
5. Saudi Arabia is set to host peace talks among Western countries, Ukraine and key developing nations. | |
| The meeting would bring senior officials from up to 30 countries to Jeddah next weekend, according to diplomats involved in the discussion. It comes amid a growing battle between the Kremlin and Ukraine's Western backers to win support from major developing countries, many of which have been neutral over the Ukraine war. The efforts could culminate in a peace summit later this year where global leaders would sign up to shared principles for resolving the war. The summit wouldn't include Russia, which has shunned any serious talk of peace. | |
| 🎥 Explosion in Moscow After Suspected Ukrainian Drone Strikes (Watch) | |
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