💬 Suite talk

Suite talk: Land your dream job in the corner office by 29? Buy your first home at age 30? Many Americans say they realized the importance of having a financial plan or working with a planner after hitting major life wins, according to Empower research. 

Read the room, and the cost of housing continues to take center stage. Nearly one in three people (29%) say buying a home is the most financially significant life change. Yet, almost as many admit they underestimated just how costly homeownership would be. 

Shelter prices, which make up more than a third of the Consumer Price Index, are up 3.7% year-over-year, with rent and owners’ equivalent rent both ticking up 0.3% in July from the month before.

— The Editors 

📺 Screen share: Streaming grabbed a record 47.3%* of U.S. TV time in July, topping the charts for the sixth straight month. The average ad-free plan is $16 per month,* while $14 is the preferred price. Sixty percent of people say a streaming platform is their most-used TV setup. 

🚚 Room for expansion: DoorDash, holding about two-thirds of U.S. restaurant delivery, now tops $100B* in market value with Q2 revenue up 25% year-over-year. After its first annual profit* in 2024, the company is pushing beyond meals with deals for the U.K.’s Deliveroo (nearly $4B), hospitality software company SevenRooms ($1.2B), and ad tech firm Symbiosys ($175M).

✔️ Credit check: S&P Global, which rates the creditworthiness of businesses and countries, reaffirmed* its “AA+” rating for the United States. The decision signals steady footing for Washington's fiscal playbook and can be a confidence boost when the economy zigzags.

🏈 League pool: NFL teams each received a record $432.6M in national revenue sharing,* totaling $13.8B league-wide from last season. With more international games on the slate this season, the league could tap the 44% of fans who travel abroad for sporting events.

Bots on call

Some small manufacturers are renting robots — about $23/hour* — instead of buying units that can cost up to $500,000. The aim: handle work such as stacking boxes, sorting parts, and welding and feeding machines, to reduce turnover that can reach 100% in those roles and improve safety by offloading heavy lifting and repetitive strain.

Average hourly earnings for manufacturing employees were $35.30* in July, up from $34.08 a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Gateway generation

Generation Alpha is flexing its budget power. A survey of parents shows 8‑ to 14‑year‑olds sway 42%* of family spending and directly control $101 billion a year. The average Gen Alpha member has $67 to spend a week — $3,484 a year — nearly 50% more than in 2024.

This cohort steers choices: 52% of parents say kids helped pick a new vacation spot; 61% report more online purchases; and over half note nudges toward charitable donations. Ninety-one percent earn their own cash through chores, grades, odd jobs, or online selling. Nearly half (45%) of families with children have set up savings or investments for their kids, and 71% prioritize teaching budgeting and money skills, according to Empower research.

Sweet sounds

Back on track: Taylor Swift's new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” lands in October* — and the news arrives alongside her engagement* to Travis Kelce. The release spans streaming, vinyl, and cassette tapes — fitting for a physical-music rebound. Swift’s last album sold nearly 3.5 million* copies across all formats, and accounted for 6% of all U.S. album sales in 2024. It was released during the Eras Tour, which drew over 10 million people at an average of $204* a ticket. 

“Super fans” — 18%* of U.S. music listeners — are helping fuel an analog resurgence. In 2023, 436,400 cassettes were sold, up from 80,720 in 2015 (still far from the 1980s’ 440 million). 

In case you missed it — read on. 

• Where renting makes “cents” (and where buying does)
• Old job, new plan: How to roll over a 401(k)
• The mall is back — and Gen Z’s leading the charge