Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Whirlwind week
Stocks nearly recovered to break even last week after a rout on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week down 0.6%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost 0.04% and 0.18%, respectively. A weak July jobs report raised fears about the health of the economy, so traders will be looking for confirmation that the U.S. can stay out of a recession. The July producer price index is due Tuesday, followed by the consumer price index Wednesday and retail sales Thursday. Follow live market updates here.
2. Checking on consumers
Major retail earnings this week will give investors another look at the health of consumers. Home Depot will report before the bell Tuesday, offering a gauge of home improvement spending and the housing market. Walmart, the retail giant and the largest U.S. grocer, will offer a look Thursday morning into how consumers weighed down by years of inflation are spending their money. When Walmart last reported results, it said it had made gains in the grocery business as diners balk at the high price of fast food.
3. Corporate crackdown
The Biden administration is angling to save more consumers time, and money, with a new multi-agency initiative aimed at cutting down corporate policies that burden Americans with red tape. The efforts are designed to make it easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions, secure refunds, submit online health care or insurance forms, and access high-quality customer service. “I think we can all relate to this … For example, you want to cancel your gym membership or subscription service or newspaper. It took one or two clicks to sign up. But now … you have to go in person, or wait on hold for 20 minutes … just to opt out,” White House domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden said of the plan. The announcement comes ahead of a big economic week for Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who is set to unveil her campaign’s first economic policy plans.
4. Value menus
Restaurant CEOs have a new favorite word: “value.” In recent earnings calls, executives turned to value to emphasize their goals moving forward after many restaurants saw lagging sales this quarter. It’s become such a priority that executives said the word “value” nearly 80 times on McDonald’s quarterly conference call last month. Fast food chain executives especially are hoping that emphasizing the deals at their chains will bring customers back as prices for food away from home have been soaring.
5. New direction
DirecTV has added a new member to the flock. Deion Sanders — who’s better known these days as Coach Prime and the coach of the NCAA’s Colorado Buffaloes — is jumping on the company’s latest ad campaign. The company best known for providing the traditional TV bundle through satellite dishes has been tapping star power to get its message across that, actually, customers can watch DirecTV without a satellite dish. DirecTV, like other cable and satellite providers, has been losing pay TV customers for a while as customers cut the cord. It’s turning to live sports, and Coach Prime, as well as its internet TV bundles to stem those losses and lure customers who want to access content without a bulky dish.
– CNBC’s Brian Evans, Tanaya Macheel, Josephine Rozzelle, Amelia Lucas and Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
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