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Good afternoon. Here's what you should know today, July 2 | |
- Millions of Americans face having to repay their entire student debt
- The jobs market is showing surprising pockets of strength
- Taylor Swift's career path offers broad management lessons
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 | | Payments and interest accrual on federal student loans initially were paused by the Trump administration and Congress as the pandemic took hold in 2020. PHOTO: ALLISON BAILEY/ZUMA PRESS | | |
1. After a three-year reprieve, student borrowers must now pay. | |
| The Supreme Court's decision to strike down President Biden's mass student-debt cancellation plan thrusts borrowers back into a repayment system that millions had hoped they would never see again. There have been other changes that could make repayment more complicated for some borrowers. Millions of student-loan holders have graduated from schools (or left without a degree) since 2020, and have never made a payment or been assigned to a loan servicing company. | |
| What the Court's Decision Means for You (Read) 🎧 Supreme Court Sinks Biden's Student-Loan Forgiveness Plan (Listen) 🎥 Student-Loan Fight 'Not Over,' Education Secretary Says (Watch) | |
2. Investors are spurning dividend-paying stocks as AI booms. | |
| During 2022's bear market, dividend-paying stocks were embraced by investors looking for a steady stream of cash. Those investors now see greater promise in growth-focused tech stocks that don't typically pay dividends while betting a boom in artificial intelligence will deliver bigger profits down the road. The Nasdaq ended the first half up 32%, while the S&P 500 rose 16%. In the coming holiday-shortened trading week, investors will look to the May trade deficit on Wednesday to forecast the market's trajectory. | |
| Grantham Warns AI Boom Won't Prevent Market Bubble From Bursting (Read) Market Bets on Cheaper Oil, Undermining Saudi Hopes for a Price Rebound (Read) | |
3. America's hot labor market is fueling job growth in unexpected places. | |
| The U.S. labor market is showing surprising pockets of strength as companies directly in the crosshairs of rising interest rates hold on to or add workers. Builders, architects and engineers, real-estate agents, vehicle manufacturers and other businesses typically sensitive to higher borrowing costs have increased employment during the opening months of 2023. The Labor Department will release June jobs figures on Friday. | |
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4. Tesla deliveries will show whether price cuts are paying off. | |
| Tesla has been slashing prices across its lineup for much of this year, trying to rally sales and prevent a buildup of unsold inventory. Its second-quarter deliveries, expected to be reported as early as Sunday, will show how well the markdowns are working to entice customers. Analysts expect Tesla to have delivered about 445,000 vehicles globally in the April-to-June period, a roughly 75% increase over a year earlier and another record quarter for sales. | |
5. French riots are underpinned by years of anger over police conduct. | |
| France has faced a fifth night of unrest as rioters set fire to hundreds of vehicles and dozens of buildings across the country and attacked several police stations. Public anger has been fueled by videos that have surfaced showing interactions between police and people from minority communities, ranging from racial profiling and harassment to assaults and shootings in the working-class banlieues, or suburbs, where many of France's minorities live. | |
| 🎥 Heavy Police Presence in Paris Amid Protests (Watch) | |
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