• 40% of S&P 500 revenues come from overseas, and the dollar’s recent strength threatens to combine with high inflation, supply chain issues, and other factors to weigh on earnings. The Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against 16 currencies, rose 8.7% through June for its best first half since 2010.
• Since 1957 dividends have grown by an average of 5.7% per year, more than 2% above the rate of inflation.
• Gasoline prices have fallen around 10% from their mid-June high point of $5.02 a gallon, Wheat prices have fallen by 37% since mid-May, and the cost of shipping goods from Asia to the U.S. is 11.4% lower than a month ago.
• Upper-middle-class families (those earning $75,301-$127,300), despite their relatively large salaries, currently have less in excess savings than all but the poorest U.S. households and have increased their liabilities by 2%, as they took on greater debt for auto loans, credit cards and other consumer credit.