Retail sales

remain steady

Shoppers paused their spending in June from May, defying economic forecasts for a pullback and proving their resilience in the face of an uncertain economy. Retail sales were unchanged in June from May, after being revised upward to a 0.3% increase in May, according to the Commerce Department report on Tuesday. Last month, April sales were revised downward — a 0.2% decline, from unchanged. Sales rose 0.6% in March and 0.9% in February. That comes after sales fell 1.1% in January, dragged down in part by inclement weather.

IMF upgrades outlook

for China, India

The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its economic outlook this year for China, India and Europe while modestly lowering expectations for the United States and Japan. But it says worldwide progress against accelerating prices has been slowed by stickier-than-expected inflation for services, from airline travel to restaurant meals. Overall, the IMF still expects the world economy to grow a lackluster 3.2% this year, unchanged from its previous forecast in April and down a tick from 3.3% growth in 2023. From 2000 through 2019, before the pandemic upended economic activity, global growth had averaged 3.8% a year.

U.S. sanctions Mexican

firms over drugs

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on three Mexican accountants and four firms allegedly linked to a timeshare fraud ring run by the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel. In addition, Treasury and the FBI issued a notice Tuesday to banks with a reminder to be vigilant in detecting and reporting timeshare fraud perpetrated by Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations. Time share fraud targeting Americans results in tens of millions of dollars in losses annually. In 2022, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 600 complaints with losses of roughly $39.6 million from victims contacted by scammers regarding timeshares owned in Mexico.

Amazon Prime Day

big for scammers

Amazon Prime Day is here. And experts are reminding consumers to be wary of scams. Deceptions such as phony emails from people impersonating online retailers like Amazon are nothing new. But the Better Business Bureau says phishing attempts increase amid the heavy spending seen during significant sales events. Amazon’s two days of discounts for Prime members start on Tuesday. The Better Business Bureau advises consumers to watch out for lookalike websites, too-good-to-be-true social media ads, and unsolicited emails or calls. A spokesperson for the organization that because Prime Day is a huge moment on the retail calendar, “it represents an enormous opportunity for a scammer, con artist or even just an unethical business or organization.”

Musk to move

SpaceX to Texas

Billionaire Elon Musk says he’s moving the headquarters of SpaceX and social media company X to Texas from California. Musk posted on X Tuesday that he plans on moving SpaceX from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas. X will move to Austin from San Francisco. He called a new law signed Monday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom that bars school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their child’s gender identification change the “final straw.”

— Bulletin wire reports