It Girl Identity: Issue 9

It Girl Identity Newsletter

Grab your matcha latte and read what's moving markets this week, follow a detailed guide to budgeting, and enjoy our curated It Girl Identity recommendations!

What’s Moving Markets

The Fed held rates steady, followed by a cut by the Bank of England. Unemployment rose to 4.3%, CPI is at 3.0% and core inflation remains at 3.3%. In the past week, the stock market was notably volatile, and investor focus is shifting between different sectors and assets.

What’s Up

• Tesla (TSLA): Up 5.60% after Morgan Stanley named it a top pick due to strong cash flow and successful cost-cutting measures.

• ON Semiconductor (ON): Rose 11.54% following strong earnings that exceeded analyst estimates on both revenue and profit.

• Revvity (RVTY): Jumped 9.14% after the medical device maker reported earnings well above analyst expectations.

• Philips (PHG): Increased 6.04% on strong earnings despite a decline in sales in China.

• Top S&P 500 Gainers:  Clorox (CLX) +7%, MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX) +6%, ResMed (RMD) +4%, CBOE Holdings (CBOE) +4%, Mondelez (MDLZ) +3%.

What’s Down  

• Abbott Laboratories (ABT): Fell 0.45% after being ordered to pay $495 million for failing to warn about risks associated with its infant formula, exceeding analyst expectations. Reckitt Benckiser (RB) also dropped 8.65% in sympathy.

• Arm Holdings (ARM): Declined 5.07% after HSBC downgraded the company, citing concerns over its high valuation.

• Heineken (HEIA): Decreased 8.18% due to slower beer sales in key markets and poor performance from its investment in Chinese brewer CR Beer.

• Loews (L): Slid 1.47% following the announcement of CEO James Tisch’s resignation after 25 years.

• 3M (MMM): Dropped 1.56% after experiencing its best trading day ever last Friday.

• UPS (UPS) Mixed Q2 Results: UPS saw a 1.1% decline in revenue to $21.8 billion and a 30.1% drop in operating profit to $1.9 billion, despite volume growth in the US. The revenue and profit declines reflect the impact of new labor contracts and shifting customer preferences towards more cost-effective delivery options. UPS CEO Carol Tomé highlighted the quarter as a turning point with improved volumes but noted unexpected changes in customer behavior affecting profitability.

• Top S&P 500 Losers: Intel (INTC) -26%, Amazon (AMZN) -8%, Lam Research (LRCX) -8%, Micron Technology (MU) -8%, KLA-Tencor (KLAC) -7%.

Markets and Economy

• Boeing (BA) CEO Search Update: Former Rockwell Collins chief Kelly Ortberg is a leading candidate to replace Dave Calhoun as CEO of Boeing. Calhoun is set to step down by year-end due to operational and safety issues. Ortberg, who has extensive aerospace experience, previously led Rockwell Collins through significant changes and mergers. Other potential candidates include Boeing insiders Stephanie Pope and Steve Mollenkopf, and Spirit AeroSystems CEO Pat Shanahan.

• McDonald’s (MCD) Earnings Miss, Stock Gains: McDonald’s posted disappointing second-quarter earnings but saw a 3.76% gain in its share price. Despite missing revenue and earnings expectations, the stock rose due to investor optimism about future strategies. McDonald’s is focusing on lowering prices and extending its $5 meal deal to attract customers, contributing to a positive market reaction.

• PwC Reports Rising Healthcare Costs: PwC forecasts a significant increase in employer healthcare costs, with an 8% rise projected for 2023, the largest in over a decade. This surge is driven by increased use of mental health services and expensive new drugs like Ozempic. For 2024, costs are expected to grow 7.5%, prompting employers to reevaluate their healthcare strategies to manage expenses effectively.

• KPMG’s (KPMG) AI Integration in Audits: KPMG has integrated generative AI into its smart audit platform, KPMG Clara, enhancing its audit capabilities. The AI features will assist the firm’s 90,000 auditors globally in document review and risk identification. This advancement marks a significant step in the accounting sector’s use of AI to streamline audit workflows and improve financial reporting.

IPOs & Mergers and Acquisitions

• Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square USA (PSUS) - SEC Delay: Bill Ackman’s plan to IPO Pershing Square USA, a closed-end fund potentially bringing in $25 billion, was halted by the SEC. The delay occurred after Ackman failed to disclose a shareholder letter to the regulatory agency before announcing his plans. As a result, the IPO prospectus filing will be postponed by about a week. 

Earnings Calendar

This Week's Major U.S. Economic Reports & Fed Speakers

Here is a quick breakdown of this week’s Fed Speaker events and economic indicators, what they mean, and their forecasted results!

Monday, August 5

• ISM Services Index for July: Measures the business conditions and activity level in the services sector, which is the largest sector of the U.S. economy. (Previous: 48.8%).

Tuesday, August 6

• U.S Trade Deficit for June: Measures U.S. trade balance. (Previous: -$75.1 billion).

• Global Supply Chain Pressure Index (GSCPI) for July: Examines transportation cost and manufacturing indicators to gauge global supply chain conditions. (Previous: -0.03).

• Consumer Credit for June: Tracks individual and household access and use of credit. (Previous: $11.3 billion).

Thursday, August 8

Speakers: Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin

• Initial Jobless Claims for August 3: Number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time. (Previous: 249,000).

• Wholesale Trade for June: Measures the value in U.S. dollars of all wholesalers’ sales and inventories. (Previous: 0.6%).

Friday, August 9

• Survey of Professional Forecasters: Survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on forecasters’ views on the U.S. economy.

Sources: NASDAQ, Markets Insider, Wall Street Journal

Budgeting 101

Have you ever wondered how successful women keep track of their money and finances? This detailed guide will give you a strong foundation in budgeting (and even leave enough money for your daily lattes😉)

Disclaimer: Information shared here is for educational purposes only. Consult a financial advisor for personalized advice.

Budgeting your money may seem scary and limiting, however it is actually the opposite. It is common to feel anxious to check your bank account or overwhelmed with how to create a functional budget.

However, creating a functional system for managing our finances can set us free, as we won’t have to worry about where our money is going, and how much we have left in our account. In this guide, we will give you the foundation to budgeting and some tips and tricks to master it.

Step 1: Calculate After-Tax Income Gather all your paychecks and other income info from the past few months to get a better idea of how much disposable income you have to work with per month. If income is earned bi-weekly for example, multiply by 2 to get income per month.

Step 2: Sum Your Expenses by Category After gathering income data, look at your expenses per category and make a list. Some of those expenses could be fixed (rent, phone bill, electricity bill, loan payments, etc.), and some - variable per month (groceries, medical bill, repair services, shopping, etc.). For instance, if you are travelling, you may incur more expenses than usual (hotels, extra food, activities and flights).

Step 3: Calculate Discretionary Spending Once you have a complete list of expenses, add them together and subtract from total income - you will get your discretionary spending for the month, aka how much you have left to spend on yourself and others such as saving, services, gifts, trips. Some of that money, you may choose to put aside for goals like savings, emergency fund, and paying off debt.

Let’s summarize what we have learned so far:

For example, your total monthly income is $5,000 of which you need to pay $500 in taxes. After-tax income equals $4,500. Your expenses are as follows:

• Rent (Fixed): $2,000

• Phone Bill (Fixed): $50

• Utilities (Fixed): $150

• Gas: $100

• Groceries: $150

Subtract total expenditures from total after-tax income $4,500 - $2,450 and you are left with $2,050 for discretionary spending. From that amount, you decide to put aside $200 per month for investing and an additional $100 per month for a trip you are planning later in the year. That leaves you with a total of $1,750 per month that you can spend on whatever you’d like.

Voilà! You have just created your first simple-form budget which will serve as an easy and effective way to manage your money.

Bonus Tip #1: 50/30/20 Budget The 50/30/20 is a helpful budgeting method which ensures you have enough money for your needs, wants, and financial goals. According to this practice, every month 50% of your after-tax income will go towards your needs or necessities (groceries, rent, utilities, transportation, credit card payments, etc.), 30% towards your wants (shopping, trips, concerts, etc.), and the final 20% towards your saving/investing goals. This method maximizes your money and gives you control over what and how much you expend.

Bonus Tip #2: In unique cases such as freelancing or travelling for a prolonged period of time, where your income varies per month, feel free to increase/decrease the allocation for the three budgeting categories as needed, until you find a good balance which works for your situation.

Now that you have figured out your goals, spending pattern, and disposable income, you can create a budget using tools like Excel or Sheets to automate the process.

To make it easier to start your budgeting journey, our team at It Girl Identity will publish a free starter budget template next week, so stay tuned and follow our social media platforms!

Sources: Forbes, NerdWallet

It Girl Recommendations

Shop Our Other Recommendations Here: health, fashion, fitness, education, beauty, and skincare...

The Wall Street Girls Club:

In a traditionally male-dominated industry, The Wall Street Girls Club offers insight to her job as an investment banker and breaking through the industry. Outside of tips and advice, her content features also corporate recommendations, hauls, and lifestyle videos.

Check out her full TikTok here and be sure to visit her newsletter and finance career resources as well!

Blake Brown Beauty:

Blake Lively, the OG it girl, launched her first beauty brand August 4th (yesterday!), featuring shampoo, hair masks, leave-in conditioner, and mousse all at affordable prices with an emphasis on sustainability and clean ingredients. Her line can be seen online and in Target!

Financial Fashion

To finish off this week, we have some statement pieces to help elevate your work outfits. Shop these looks below:

• Top Left - Button Down Sweater (Preservation)

• Top Right - Leopard Print Top (Ganni)

• Bottom Left - Maxi Skirt (Banana Republic)

• Bottom Right - Low Rise Pants (Reformation)

Follow Our Other Socials

• TikTok

• Instagram

• LinkedIn

• Benable

• Amazon Storefront

See you next Monday, It Girls!

With Love,

It Girl Identity