As many shoppers scrimp and stress, the wealthiest splurge

New context for the strong-consumer-spending-and-falling-consumer-sentiment combo: According to a Boston Fed report, the proportion of spending done by top-earning U.S. households is growing, and the share spent by lower-income Americans is shrinking. What might that widening gap tells us about the trajectory of this economy? Plus: Strong Q2 corporate earnings are an economic bright spot, U.S. energy exports may not break records again this year, and we investigate who profits from the tripled ICE budget.

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