Rich Folks to the Rescue

The big news this morning that Foxconn is going to build a multibillion dollar autonomous automobile factory in Michigan is huge news for the state and the nation.  It’s the second such announcement in as many weeks from the Chinese manufacturing juggernaut. Ironically, the biggest winners in today’s session thus far are Chinese stocks, particularly those in the internet space.

The partnership news better Alibaba and Marriott sparked those shares higher and has coattails.

Each mouth, Gallup surveys 14,000 Americans on how much they spent “yesterday.” For July, such spending climbed to $109, making it the sixth straight month above $100.  The average itself is the highest since May 2008, which suggest greater confidence in the economy with upside momentum and potential.

The fallacy about the rich never spending has once again turned on its head with the sharp increase in spending among those with annual earnings above $90,000.

For folks under $90,000, spending is higher but arrested. Of course, those folks will have to go beyond paychecks and savings to spend additional money. On that score, we’ll get a better sense of consumer credit later today.

It’s a wet dreary day in the lower canyons of Manhattan, which has only compounded that sense of the Monday blahs; but the major indices are holding up, which is a victory for the stock market.