Two notable retailers issued significant warnings about consumer spending this month (from The Wall Street Journal on August 22)…

Dick’s Sporting Goods and Macy’s shares traded sharply lower Tuesday after the retailers posted weaker quarterly earnings and provided tepid forecasts for the remainder of the year, signals that the recent strength in consumer spending has its limits.  The sporting-goods chain slashed its profit targets for the year after missing Wall Street forecasts for the

Student loan repayments will equate to a 5% pay cut for the average American (from The Wall Street Journal on July 15)…

Tens of millions of federal student-loan borrowers will soon owe monthly payments for the first time in more than three years. Some of them aren’t ready for it. The payment and interest pause put extra cash into people’s pockets, but they tended to spend it rather than save it, according to recent research. Some borrowers