Two hundred and fifty years ago this weekend, a group of visionary (and deeply disgruntled) men signed a document that would change the world. The Declaration of Independence gets remembered for its soaring language about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as it should. But take a step back from the document or the specific language, and just think about how bold that decision was. Here was a group of 13 colonies that thought the best (or only) course of action was to declare their independence from the most powerful country in the world. Sure, they’d been engaged in war for over a year, but still, it was an incredibly bold and brave move.
And it is that spirit, in my mind, that has led America to go from an upstart nation to where it is today in only 250 years. I think it’s fair to say, and I would believe that any fair-minded thinker would agree, that what has been accomplished is truly remarkable. Of course there were ups and downs along the way. And bad decisions, and bad policies, and bad actors, and even bad outcomes. But if we recall the Preamble to the Constitution (which was signed 11 years after the Declaration of Independence), it says “We the People of the United States of America, in Order to form a more perfect Union.” Perhaps this is the most critical piece, “more perfect.” There is no person, or government, that is perfect. But that doesn’t mean we stop trying, because we can always continue to strive to be more perfect.
And striving, it turns out, requires taking stock. You can’t get more perfect if you don’t know where you stand. There’s no better weekend to take the temperature than this one. July 4th is, by most measures, the single biggest cookout weekend in America. More burgers flipped, more coolers packed, and more fireworks (literally and figuratively) than any other holiday on the calendar. So grab your 12-pack of choice, whether that’s Diet Coke, Miller Lite, or a fresh package of Ball Park Franks, because we’ve got a dozen of our own. Twelve facts about money, markets, and the American consumer, one for each can (or dog). Some are encouraging. Some are alarming. All of them are worth chewing on while we celebrate the big 250.
1. A Failing Grade
We may be a nation obsessed with money, but that doesn’t mean we understand it. Financial literacy in the U.S. hit its lowest level ever recorded in 2025, according to TIAA’s annual survey, now in its tenth year. Americans correctly answered just 47% of the questions on TIAA’s 28-question Personal Finance Index, down from a 2020 peak of 52%. More troubling, the share of Americans with very low financial literacy climbed to 25%, up from 20% a decade ago. One in four of us is effectively driving blind.
2. Pain at the Pump (Still)
There’s good news at the gas station, sort of. On June 17, the national average price of a gallon of regular finally slipped back below $4 for the first time since March 29. That’s a relief after the spike, but let’s not pop the champagne. The national average is still more than a dollar above its pre-Iran war level of $2.98. And history offers a small consolation that gas prices tend to peak for the year in mid-June before drifting steadily lower through mid-December. If the pattern holds, the summer road trips should get cheaper from here.
3. Small Stocks, Big Year
The mega-caps hog the headlines, but they aren’t the story of 2026 so far. Through mid-year, it’s the little guys running the show. The S&P 500 is up a more-than-respectable 9.6% year-to-date. The small-cap Russell 2000? Up a rip-roaring 21.9%, more than double. After years of being the market’s overlooked younger sibling, small caps are finally getting invited to the cookout.
4. Mom, Meatloaf!
Half of all U.S. adults say they feel financially secure. The catch is how they got there. A full 42% of adults report being financially dependent on their parents, including 53% of Millennials and 33% of Gen Xers, who presumably have their own kids by now. Perhaps the most sobering is that a fifth of all U.S. adults don’t expect to ever achieve financial independence.
5. Heavyweights
If you own an S&P 500 index, the combined weighting of the Technology and Communication Services sectors hit a record 49.94% in early June. Read that again. Two of the index’s eleven sectors now make up nearly half of the entire index. The other nine (Financials, Health Care, Industrials, and everyone else) split the remaining half. “The market” is increasingly a bet on a very specific subsection. Diversification, it turns out, isn’t always what’s printed on the label.
6. Kicking the Can
Saving for retirement is hard. Knowing what to do with the savings once you get there may be harder. In a study of working Americans aged 50 to 70 with workplace retirement accounts, nearly 70% admitted they hadn’t yet developed any plan to make their savings actually last through retirement. And this isn’t just a small-balance problem. Even among those with more than $500,000 saved, fewer than half (46%) had a decumulation plan. So even if you fill the tank, don’t forget to think about the mileage.
7. A Not So Warm Welcome
On Wednesday, June 17, the S&P 500 fell 1.2%. On its own, an unremarkable down day. But it happened to be Kevin Warsh’s first FOMC meeting as Fed Chair. Interestingly, the market has now sold off on all four “first Fed days” for new Chairs since 1994. And this one was the steepest drop of the bunch. Whether it’s a genuine vote of no confidence or just nervous coincidence, Wall Street apparently gets the jitters when a new boss is in town.
8. The Rise of the $1K Car Payment
The four-figure monthly car payment used to be the stuff of exotic showrooms. Not anymore. In Q1 2026, 19% of all new vehicle loans carried monthly payments of at least $1,000, up from just 5.4% in Q1 2021. Nearly a quadrupling in four years. And with 74% of those thousand-dollar payments for non-luxury models, it’s not that everyone suddenly went upmarket. Of the five vehicles most likely to command such a payment, all are pickup trucks. Turns out the most American of vehicles now comes with the most American of debts.
9. Gold Enters a Bear Market
Even the ultimate safe haven has its limits. After posting its second-strongest bull run since 1975 (a stunning +228%) and its third-longest (1,221 days), gold officially tumbled into bear market territory on June 10, crossing the traditional 20% decline threshold. For anyone tempted to think metals only go up, history would say “it’s complicated.” The 14 prior gold bear markets saw a median drop of 30.5% over 380 days. Gravity, it seems, also applies to commodities.
10. Trillion Is the New Billion
In late May, Micron joined the club of $1 trillion market-cap companies (about 16 globally). So while that is extraordinary on its own, the speed is what really turned heads. Micron crossed the $500 billion mark only 48 trading days before hitting $1 trillion, the fastest such doubling ever for a U.S. company. It shattered the old record of 230 trading days, set by Tesla between November 2020 and October 2021.
11. Higher Prices Everywhere?
Inflation may be cooling in the headlines, but the businesses buying raw materials are feeling something else. In ISM’s May survey of manufacturers and service firms, respondents reported 79 commodities rising in price and not a single one falling. That net reading of +79 was the highest since October 2021 and only the seventh month since 1999 in which no commodity was reported to have declined. It will be interesting to see if this makes its way to CPI later this year.
12. First-Time Buyers Return
We’ll close on an encouraging note. Existing home sales rose 3.2% year-over-year in May, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, at a median price of $429,300. But the real story is who’s buying, as first-time homebuyers made up 35% of sales. This is up from 30% a year earlier and the highest share since June 2020. After years of being priced out and locked out, the next generation of owners is finally getting a foot in the door.
So there they are, a 12-pack of interesting facts and a country turning 250. What strikes me most, laying them all out side by side, is that the key themes of the underlying story haven’t changed much since 1776. We’re still a nation of strivers and spenders, of optimists chasing outsized returns and skeptics warning that gravity is real. We celebrate the trillion-dollar companies and worry about the trillion-dollar debts. We’re financially anxious, only partially financially literate, and somehow still buying homes and pickup trucks.
But that’s the American experiment in a nutshell, messy and contradictory, but remarkably durable. Happy birthday, America. Keep moving forward and striving to be more perfect. Now back to the grill.
But if you’re thirsty for more, here is a great (and quick) read with six amazing charts showcasing America 250.
Markets / Economy
- The year is already half over, and what a year it has been. With no end to the major headlines, markets just keep pushing higher. The S&P finished the week up 1.8%, the Nasdaq up 2.1%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 down -0.5%.
- The ISM Manufacturing PMI for the U.S. fell to 53.3 in June, down from 54.0 in May and below market expectations of 54. The latest reading indicated a slowdown in the manufacturing sector, with output (52.2 vs. 54.3 in May) and new orders (56.0 vs. 56.8) growing at a slower pace.
- The U.S. economy added 57K jobs in June, well below a downwardly revised 129K in May and forecasts of 110K. It is the lowest job gain in four months
- The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% in June, down from 4.3% in May and below expectations. However, the labor force contracted by 720K to 169.36 million, with the participation rate falling to 61.5%, its lowest since March 2021.
Stocks
- U.S. equities were in positive territory. Financials and Communication Services were the top performers, while Real Estate and Energy lagged. Value stocks led growth stocks, and large caps beat small caps.
- International equities closed higher for the week. Developed markets fared better than emerging markets.
Bonds
- The 10-year Treasury bond yield increased 11 basis points to 4.49% during the week.
- Global bond markets were in negative territory this week.
- High-yield bonds led for the week, followed by corporate bonds and government bonds.
