CNBC Daily Open: The American consumer

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

U.S. futures up after Wednesday losses
Futures pegged to the major U.S. stock benchmark indexes inched higher after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 191 points, or 0.54%, at the close of trade on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 shaved off 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.17%. Markets are waiting for Thursday’s July consumer price index report, which will likely show that the pace of price increases is easing, but not enough to get the Federal Reserve to retreat on its inflation fight.

No tech investment ban, but notify please
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday. From next year, outbound U.S. investors will be required to notify the Treasury Department of new U.S. investment and expertise that supports Chinese development of sensitive technologies. They include technologies like semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum computing and certain artificial intelligence capabilities. Biden’s order appears similar to a toned-down version of the initial Outbound Investment Transparency Act the Senate recently introduced.

Pricier Disney+
Disney shares rose in after hours trading after the company pledged to raise the price on its ad-free streaming tier in October and said it would crack down on password sharing. At its earnings release, Disney reported subscriber losses continued over the last three months, declining 7.4% decline from the previous quarter — a larger loss than Wall Street expected. This contributed to a net loss of $460 million for the most recent quarter from a net income of $1.41 billion from a year ago.

Drought woes
The number of vessels waiting to cross the Panama Canal has reached 154. Slots for carriers to book passage are being reduced in an effort to manage congestion caused by ongoing drought conditions that have roiled the major shipping gateway since Spring. The current wait time to cross the canal is now around 21 days.

[PRO] Trading the CPI numbers
As investors wait for the latest inflation report and weigh the Federal Reserve’s forward path, JPMorgan’s trading desk laid out five potential scenarios tied to how Wall Street might respond, judging by the month-over-month increase.

In fact, airlines and hotel chains in recent weeks have reported a surge in bookings and rising prices for international trips — at the expense of domestic destinations.

Theme park operators and restaurants are also seeing good traffic, though some companies are pulling back on perks as they chase higher margins.

However, toymakers and department stores such as Macy’s and Nordstrom are warning of tepid holiday spending. Retailers are resorting to promotional activities and markdowns — even Amazon is seeing the need to hook consumers planning to start their holiday shopping early by hosting a second Prime Day-like sales bonanza in October.

Clearly, Americans are being very careful about where and how they are spending their money in an age of rising prices.