Rice > rice cooker… Walmart and Target are expected to ring up earnings growth this week. Both retailers topped Wall Street’s estimates in May, even as shoppers cooled on big-ticket buys like $300 grills. As more Americans ditch discretionary splurges and bargain-hunt for groceries, retailers are boosting their food offerings. Target recently added 100+ new items to its Good & Gather private label, but it’s tough to compete with Walmart’s grocery game: America’s largest retailer makes up over quarter of all US grocery spend.
2 years later… Tomorrow marks two years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, and the $7B in Afghan central-bank funds that the Biden admin froze are still in limbo. Half is being held in a Swiss trust fund until the central bank can show it’s free from Taliban influence. The other $3.5B is in New York, where a judge turned down an effort by families of 9/11 victims to seize it. While releasing the billions to Afghanistan could risk = recognizing the Taliban as a legitimate gov’t, over a third of Afghans face severe hunger as the country’s economy crumbles.