Banks say consumer financials are healthy - July 19, 2022

The United Kingdom recorded its hottest temperature ever on Tuesday, reaching 104.4 degrees Fahrenheit as a heat wave pummels large swaths of Europe. The sweltering weather, which disrupted travel, health care and schools in a country unprepared for such extremes, will likely complicate Europe’s energy crisis as countries see a spike in demand for air conditioning and electricity from sources outside of Russia. Talk of extreme weather patterns in the U.S. has renewed focus on President Joe Biden’s plans to declare a national climate emergency, which he could do as early as this week. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling for an end to U.S. dependence on China for key goods, citing the need to improve supply chains and avoid the potential for Beijing to cut off supplies as it has done to other countries. Speaking in Seoul, Yellen emphasized the need to strengthen trade relationships with U.S. allies to reduce the vulnerabilities in supply exposed during the pandemic, highlighting South Korea as growing more technologically independent from China. South Korean conglomerate LG has announced plans to invest at least $11 billion in the U.S. by 2025, with a large portion devoted solely to developing battery materials. Consumer financial health in the U.S. is holding up despite high inflation, according to new bank data. Second quarter data from the country's largest lenders show that consumers continued with strong spending habits and few signs of credit deterioration, often tapping into credit to borrow more on their credit cards. While many large banks posted lower earnings this quarter compared to one year ago, most bank leaders said they do not expect the economy to slow to a full recession. Amazon has filed a lawsuit against the administrators of more than 10,000 Facebook groups that the company says coordinated fake reviews of Amazon products. Some groups, which reviewed products such as camera tripods and car stereos, had more than 43,000 members. Amazon has been plagued by fake reviews since the on