Hello friends and Fortune readers.
So apparently its going to get cold tonight? The polar vortex, I guess, is back (maybe.) Whatever is causing it, temperatures from tonight through Thursday will be significantly lower than in recent days, dipping down into the 70s during the day and the 50s at night for much of the east coast an midwest. While the words “polar vortex” still probably brings back memories of perma-snow for many, I think anyone currently sweating their way through the summer will appreciate a few days of relative cool. And now, here’s what you need to know for today:
1. Bank earnings are down, as expected.
Two of the countries biggest banks, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, reporter their earnings today. As expected both JPMorgan took a dip, with earnings down 8% to $25.3 billion. Despite the decline, that number actually beat the analysts projection of $23.76 billion. Goldman was up slightly, with earnings of $2.04 billion, up from $1.93 billion a year ago.
2. Janet Yellen to speak today
The Fed chairman will speak today in front of the Senate Banking Committee in the first of two days of testimony. Nothing new is expected from Yellen, but CNBC reports that if she were to say something unexpected, the markets could react poorly. The testimony begins this morning at 10 am EDT.
3. June retail numbers to come out this morning
We’ll find out today just how much stuff American consumers bought last month this morning at 8:30. American companies will hope the numbers are more positive than across the pond, where UK retail numbers fell, leading one expert to tell Reuters he blames an old foe — the poor performance of the England national team at the World Cup.
4. Wal-Mart matches any price … except for Walmart.com
You’ve seen the commercials. Wal-Mart promises to match any price of a competitor. Turns out that’s true for any store except themselves. Business Insider writes about an Atlanta dad who tried to get the Walmart.com price for a toy at a Walmart store, only to be told that the price match guarantee didn’t apply to that. So he took the next logical step — he ordered the item on Walmart.com and set it for in-store pickup, thinking an employee would just have to go grab it off the shelf. Alas, they made him come back the next day.
