We’re changing up the pace with a quick one this week. We have a handful of numbers that caught my eye, providing more nuanced insights into where households (wallet watch) and markets really stand right now. It’s not a grand narrative, just some interesting signals—from how much help grandparents give, to what we’re paying on credit, to the quiet surge in data-center power. We’ll dive in in just a minute, but before we hop into the facts, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share the “new data” from the kart race last weekend. First and foremost, my son (as expected) had an absolutely phenomenal time. He has definitely found his passion, and it looks like, after his fifth-place finish on his first time out (see the picture below with the team), he may have some talent. Enjoy the fast facts.
Are the Grandkids Spoiled? Don’t I know about this…96% of all U.S. grandparents financially support their grandchildren in some capacity. Total financial support from grandparents to their grandchildren averages $3,948 annually, but 10% report providing more than $10,000 per year. Gifts for special occasions are the most frequent type of financial support, followed by apparel, entertainment, and money for dining out. (Source: The Senior List)
Swipe Costs Bite. The average interest rate assessed on credit-card accounts that incur interest rose to 22.25% in Q2—near the highest on record. (Source: Federal Reserve G.19)
Put it on my Tab. Total U.S. credit-card balances climbed to $1.21 trillion in Q2, up 8% year over year. (Source: New York Fed Household Debt and Credit)
Premiums are Popping. The average annual cost for family health insurance coverage increased 297% from $6,438 in 2000 to $25,570 in 2024. At an annualized increase of 5.92%, health insurance costs have increased at 2.3 times the rate of inflation. (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation)
More Business Travelling? Remember when COVID was going to kill business travel and Zoom (ZM) was trading nearly 8x higher than it is today? In a global survey of more than 7,000 business travelers, 80% said they are traveling for work as much or more than before 2019, and average trip spending was up 35% year-over-year from $834 in 2024 to $1,128 in 2025. (Source: Global Business Travel Association)
Upper Incomes Overextended? The percentage of auto loans past due by at least 30 days has increased by 10.6% over the last two years; however, the rate of increase for consumers with incomes above $ 150,000 has increased by 19.8%. The delinquency rates for credit card loans have increased 6.7% overall and 27.6% for higher-income consumers. (Source: VantageScore)
The Subscription Economy. CNET’s second annual “subscription survey” found that the average American spends $90/month on subscriptions, including $17/month on subscriptions they don’t use. Millennials spend the most on subscriptions at $101/month, but that’s down from the $119/month they reported spending a year ago. (Source: CNET)
Long-Term Treasuries Lost Decade. August 4th marked the five-year anniversary of the record-low closing yield on the 10-year US Treasury of 0.51%. In the five years since that low, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury ETF (TLT) had a total return of -40.8%. Over the last ten years, the total return has been -6.6%. (Source: Bespoke)
Health Care Valuations Sink. Healthcare has been the worst-performing sector in 2025, falling by over 6%. On a valuation basis, Health Care is the only sector with a forward 12-month price/earnings ratio in the lower half of its 30-year range, and its multiple relative to the S&P 500 is at the lowest level in 30 years. (Source: Goldman Sachs)
Datacenter Power Demand. After already doubling since 2021, the amount of electricity supplied by the US power grid to data centers is projected to double again between 2025 and 2030 to 120 gigawatts per year. With a total US installed capacity of roughly 1,250 GW, 2030 data center demand would still only represent 10% of current utility capacity. (Source: EIA, S&P Global)
More of an Estimate. In the June CPI report, 35% of all price inputs for the commodities and services survey were imputed from collected prices of the same item in other geographic areas or related-item categories in the same area. This was the highest percentage of “estimated” prices since at least 2019. (Source: Charles Schwab)
Cash on the Sidelines. U.S. money-market fund assets hit a record $7.15 trillion for the week ended August 6th. Savers are still parking cash, even with stocks at highs. (Source: ICI)
Mortgage Meter. The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.63% for the week of August 7th, down from the 2023 peaks, but still triple the 2021 lows. (Source: Freddie Mac PMMS)
Markets / Economy
- Markets rebounded nicely after the sell-off the prior week. The S&P finished the week up 2.4%, the Nasdaq was up 3.9%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 was up 2.4%.
- The ISM Services PMI unexpectedly fell to 50.1 in July from 50.8 in June, below forecasts of 51.5. The reading showed the services sector nearly stagnated, with seasonal and weather factors having a negative impact on business.
- Initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose by 7K from the previous week to 226K in the last week of July, firmly above market expectations of a softer increase. In turn, outstanding jobless claims soared by 38K to 1.974M on the previous week, well above market expectations of 1.950M to mark the highest level of unemployment since November 2021.
Stocks
- U.S. equities were in positive territory. Consumer Discretionary and Technology were the top performers, while Energy and Healthcare 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 seven basis points to 4.28% 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.
