It's fine, I'm fine – Consumer confidence ticked up in July as the Consumer Confidence Index rose by 2 points, from 95.2 in June to 97.2, with the increase mainly driven by consumers over age 35. The Expectations Index also rebounded, climbing 4.5 points to 74.4. Despite the improvement, it remained below the 80-point threshold for the sixth consecutive month, a level that often signals recession risks ahead. (Source: The Conference Board)

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble? – Spending on AI data centers in 2025 has surged to historic levels, now accounting for nearly two-thirds of US GDP, marking the first time tech infrastructure has outpaced consumer spending as a driver of economic growth. The Magnificent Seven tech giants alone poured over $100 billion into data-center projects in just the last three months, sparking concerns of an AI-fueled bubble. (Source: Fortune)

Really rich robots – Microsoft became the world’s second company to hit a $4 trillion market cap on 7/31, just weeks after Nvidia became the first—both propelled by surging demand for AI. Microsoft’s Azure cloud revenue jumped 34% to over $75 billion, underscoring the company’s transformation into a dominant force in cloud and artificial intelligence. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

This math isn’t mathing – Between 2021 and 2024, China’s household savings surged by 50% as wary citizens fled a collapsing housing market—yet during the same period, personal-loan defaults nearly doubled. In 2024 alone, up to 83 million people were at risk of default, revealing a growing debt crisis that now affects as much as 7% of the adult population. (Source: The New York Times)

Ain’t easy being a Tesla EV – Tesla’s new-car sales plunged by more than 55% in both Britain and Germany in July, extending a six-month streak of market-share losses across Europe. Meanwhile, China’s BYD surged ahead, quadrupling UK sales and posting a 390% year-over-year jump in Germany—highlighting the shifting momentum in the global EV race. (Source: CNBC)

Meet me on the tarmac – In 2024, the number of people with more than $30 million in assets reached a record high, while the US averaged more than 1,000 new millionaires per day. The billionaire population has grown over 50% since 2015, fueling a boom in private-jet travel that remains at record levels since peaking in 2022. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Robbing Peter to pay Paul – Americans are increasingly treating their 401(k)s as both retirement savings and emergency lifelines, with a record 4.8% of workers taking hardship withdrawals in 2024—more than double the pre-pandemic average. Early withdrawals can erode long-term savings by up to 30% over time, at a time when 40% of workers already fall short of what's needed to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Cat-astrophe avoided – Amsterdam is investing €100,000 to build and install tiny wooden staircases (nicknamed “cat traps”) around the city to help cats and other small critters escape the city’s world-renowned canals. The project is funded through an unused biodiversity budget and will focus on high-risk locations across the city. (Source: Vice)

Low-res, high nostalgia – Lego and Nintendo have teamed up to launch a brick-built version of the iconic Game Boy, complete with 421 pieces and lenticular display graphics that mimic gameplay from Super Mario Land and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening 1. The set features interactive elements such as a “working” power switch and pressable buttons. (Source: CNN)

Get ready to rumble – ESPN is entering the ring with WWE in a blockbuster five-year, $1.6 billion streaming deal that will bring marquee events such as WrestleMania and SummerSlam to its new streaming platform starting in 2026. The deal marks an 80% jump over WWE’s previous Peacock contract, signaling ESPN’s aggressive push into sports entertainment as it bulks up for its streaming future. (Source: Sherwood News)