In today’s newsletter I discuss how staglfation is hitting the U.S., Nvidia's market cap is worth over $5 trillion dollars, Taylor Swift fights back against AI, meme stocks are back and day traders are loving them again, The Real Brokerage is acquiring Re/Max, Spirit Airlines might go into bankruptcy again and get a government bailout, Democrats propose a $25/hr federal minimum wage, and a ticket to this Summer’s World Cup cost how much?!?!

Let’s get into it!

The U.S. economy is entering a period of stagflation, and I don’t want to sugarcoat it for you; it’s gonna get worse before it gets better. But what is stagflation, and how’s it going to affect you? It’s a term that many people have heard, but very few really understand. So let's get into it.

Right off the top, let’s define what stagflation is so you’re not wondering “What the heck is this guy talking about?” Economists love to coin new terms. In this case, they took the term “stagnation”, which means not growing, and combined it with “inflation”, which is the increase of prices for goods and services, and came up with the new term “stagflation”.

Economists must think they’re pretty smart.

Stagflation happens when the growth of the economy slows down or stops altogether, while at the same time prices for everything else continue to rise. You can see the evidence of this economic shift every time you pull up to the gas pump, or check out at the grocery store.

Does that sound familiar? Weren’t you just talking to your partner or friends about this just the other day? Well you’re not alone.

It feels like the U.S. economy is entering a new period of stagflation, but economists would argue we’re not technically experiencing stagflation yet….at least not according to the textbook definition of the term.

Try telling that to your average American shopper, and see what they say.

Welcome to stagflation USA!

Take for example the price of gas. The U.S. national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline at the pump is $4.18, which is a significant jump for most families from the $2.98 that Americans were paying before the War in Iran caused prices to jump. In some states like California, drivers are paying as much as $5.97 per gallon for regular at the pump, and they’ve seen diesel prices skyrocket to $7.26, up from the $4.75 they were paying on February 27, 2026, just 1 day before the War in Iran started.

If you’ve walked through your local grocery store and thought to yourself “WoW! Everything seems so much more expensive!” then you’re not imagining it. Prices have gone up….on EVERYTHING!

The average price of Romaine lettuce just reached $3.61 per pound. This price reflects an increase of 38.6% from February 2024 to February 2026, driven by high demand and supply constraints. The price of tomatoes has spiked by 23% over the past year, with 15.3% of that jump coming in March 2026 alone, to reach an average of $2.26 per pound in the U.S.. This surge in the price of tomatoes is driven by an economic perfect storm of high transportation costs, rising energy prices, and tariffs on imports from Mexico. These high prices create a situation where businesses are not expanding, people are beginning to lose their jobs, and the cost of living keeps going up.

Let’s get our economic geek on for a minute.

Stagnation refers to a period where the Gross Domestic Product of a country fails to grow at a healthy rate for a long period of time. Right now in the U.S. we’re seeing the growth rate of our economy slow down to just 0.5%, which is an incredibly low figure for the world’s biggest superpower. When growth is this low, businesses don’t have the money they need to hire new workers, or give raises to their current employees. This leads to a weak job market, where finding a new position becomes much harder for anyone unemployed, or underemployed, in all 50 states across our country.

Inflation is the purchasing power of your money when it’s dropping every day. Even though the economy isn’t growing as much as it was, the cost of surviving is getting more expensive by the day for the average American. Households are struggling to afford the increased prices of gas and groceries we just talked about.

So why is the United States beginning to experience stagflation?

You can thank the recent trade policies and tariffs that the Trump administration has implemented for the stagflation we’re all beginning to feel.

This is probably a good time for a public service announcement to remind everyone that this newsletter isn’t about politics. It’s about business and economics. I like to lay out the facts to you in as plain English as possible, with a healthy dose of sarcasm of course, and let you draw your own conclusions.

Tariffs are taxes that you as Americans pay on the goods you buy from other countries. Here’s how that works. You’re a farmer and want to buy a new John Deere tractor. You go to a dealer and place an order. That dealership buys the tractor, which is manufactured in China. The business is going to pay a 40% tariff on the price of buying that tractor from China, and then they’re going to pass that tariff down to you, the farmer.

As of April 2026, if you import a tractor from China, you would likely face a total tariff rate of between 35%-40% or higher thanks to the tariff concept of "stacked" fees. First off, most agricultural tractors have a "Free" base duty rate of 0% under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). Next you need to add in the Section 301 Tariff, which is a 25% tariff rate placed on all Chinese machinery. Then you have to add in the Section 122 Reciprocal Tariff rate of 15% that the Trump administration implemented after the Supreme Court ruled in February 2026, that the broad tariffs the administration had implemented earlier, were illegal.

So if you’re a farmer in the Midwest, who needs to buy a new tractor to grow their crops, which are shipped to grocery stores across the United States, you’re now paying a 40% tariff on that new tractor, and that’s part of the reason why lettuce costs more at the grocery store.

You see how economics works?

You’re paying more for vegetables, because a farmer had to buy a new tractor, and they got hit with a 40% tariff bill on their purchase; therefore, they had to raise their prices, which trickled down through the economy until it landed on your receipt when you checked out at the grocery store.

Your paycheck didn’t go up, but now you’re paying more for groceries while you continue to earn the same salary. But at least you have a job, because a lot of businesses aren’t hiring right now, because they’re stuck paying for tariffs as everything is getting more expensive, as the economy’s growth has slowed.

That’s stagflation for you.

Nvidia just made history becoming the first company to have a market cap of over $5 trillion dollars. Led by co-founded and CEO Jensen Huang, Nvidia has been soaring the last few years as the chipmaker has been at the center of the AI boom.

It’s only been around 9 months since Nvidia saw their valuation hit the $4 trillion dollar mark on July 9 2025, and it’s been 2 years and 10 months since Nvidia first became a $1 trillion dollar company on May 30, 2023. It’s insane how quickly their valuation has gone up!

This rapid increase in Nvidia’s market cap shows how Jensen Huang has positioned Nvidia to dominate the AI industry. Now everyday investors on Main Street, and Wall Street professionals, follow Nvidia’s every up-and-down as if it were a made for reality TV show.

My only question is when do you think Nvidia’s market cap will reach $6 trillion dollars? I’m guessing by the end of 2026.

Taylor Swift is taking a legal stand to protect her name and voice from the rise of Artificial Intelligence. She wants to ensure that her identity remains her own, as technology becomes more advanced and deep fakes abound. Taylor Swift filed trademark applications to ensure that no one can use her likeness or voice without permission.

This move comes as Taylor Swift continues to dominate the music industry, with her latest Eras Tour generating over $2 billion dollars in ticket sales.

Taylor Swift ‘s music catalog brings in around $200 million dollars a year in annual income from on-demand streaming and publishing royalties combined. Some estimates suggest Taylor Swift’s music catalog could be worth $900 million dollars, and that her net worth is north of $1.6 billion dollars.

Taylor Swift isn’t the only celebrity who’s actively trying to safeguard their likeness in the era of AI. Matthew McConaughey filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to trademark his catchphrases, including his famous “alright alright alright” from the 1993 coming of age movie “Dazed and Confused”. And Scarlett Johansson took legal action against Convert Software, which used an AI-generated version of her image and voice in a commercial. Her lawyer issued a cease-and-desist letter to the company, and the commercial was taken down.

I feel for these celebrities, but if someone wants to use my likeness and voice to make a commercial let me know and I’ll shoot you a quote.

Meme stocks are back in the news again thanks to a rule change by the SEC. Now retail investors, you know….the poor schmucks like you and me, are pouring cash into the market trying to chase the massive gains the stock market has been making nearly every week.

On April 14, 2026, the SEC approved a proposed amendment to Rule 4210 that eliminated the $25,000 minimum equity requirement on brokerage accounts, in order to change the "pattern day trader" designation rule. Now anyone who wants to use margin to buy stocks, options, or futures only needs to maintain a balance in their account of $2,000 in order to be able to use margin to purchase securities.

This is a big change from when I first began daytrading back in 1998, and I’m glad the SEC is updating their rules to reflect the modern markets.

Some of the meme stocks day traders have piling into include the OG of meme stocks GameStop, and newer arrivals to the meme stock mania like Avis Budget Group which trades under the stock tickers CARS and has been a favorite lately, and now Allbirds after they said they’ll stop selling sneakers and would now become an AI company.

You can’t even make these things up!

The real estate industry woke up to news that The Real Brokerage is acquiring Re/Max in a deal worth $880 million dollars. This deal represents an industry shift in how homes are bought and sold as the tech firm The Real Brokerage leverages its platform to take over the famous legacy brand Re/Max. The newly merged company will be called the Real Remax Group, and will support more than 180,000 agents across 120 countries.

But mergers don't come cheap. Both Morgan Stanley and Apollo are providing $550 million dollars in financing to help manage the new company’s debt and fund the cash portion of the purchase.

Now for the sexy part. The combined company will bring in as much as $2.3 billion dollars in annual revenue, with profit projections of $157 million dollars a year, and that’s before they even begin consolidating teams and cutting head count. Oh I can just hear those cost savings ringing up.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Spirit Airlines is in trouble….again.

The word on Wall Street is that Spirit Airlines is close to filing for bankruptcy, again, for the second time in less than a year.

And get this: The Trump administration is in talks with the beleaguered airline about the federal government potentially investing $500 million dollars, which would give the government a roughly 90% stake in the airline. That doesn’t seem like such a good deal for Spirit Airlines, until you go back to how I just told you they are on the verge of filing for their second bankruptcy in less than a year, and this time might not just be a bankruptcy; it might be a liquidation thanks to the $3.3 billion dollars in debt the airline has. So yea, if you’re Spirit Airlines giving the U.S. government 90% of your company company if it means you can keep operating is starting to sound like a great deal.

So why is Spirit Airlines having such a bad time these last few years? Well, rising fuel costs from the War in Iran is hurting every airline these days, and a failed potential merger with JetBlue back in March of 2024 hasn’t helped them. Then there’s the increased competition from low-cost rival Frontier Airlines, which is aggressively targeting Spirit Airlines’ key markets. Not to mention your major carriers like Delta, United, and American all introducing more "basic economy" fares to win over price-sensitive travelers like me.

With all those headwinds, maybe liquidation isn’t the worst idea for Spirit Airlines.

Democratic lawmakers just introduced a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $25 dollars an hour, up from the current $7.25 dollars an hour. Democratic representatives Delia Ramirez and Rashida Tlaib are leading the effort to help ensure that families have enough money for basic needs. This is great news for workers, but potentially bankruptcy causing news for small businesses who are already struggling to absorb tariffs and supply chain constraints from the War in Iran.

What you need to know, which I didn’t know until I wrote this, is that there’s a federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 dollars an hour, and then there’s a state minimum wage, which is $16 dollars an hour in Upstate New York state where I live, but each state has their own minimum wage.

So how does a business know which minimum wage they’re supposed to pay their employees? The federal law states that a business must pay the highest rate among federal, state, and local laws. As of January 1, 2026, there are 30 states, plus Washington D.C., have adopted a state minimum wage that is higher than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.

Politics aside, I’m not gonna lie - there is no way anyone can support themselves on a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour, so I’m all for whichever political party wants to increase the federal minimum wage. I think we should have a national conversation, including voices from some of the businesses that pay their workers minimum wage, in order to discuss the pro’s and con’s of raising the federal minimum wage. You know, a health debate, like we used to have here in the United States.

People are losing their minds over the cost of a single ticket to the World Cup’s final game, with some people calling it the most expensive ticket in the history of professional sports.

Just this week someone listed (4) tickets to the World Cup’s final match, which will be played at MetLife Stadium on July 19, for $2.3 million dollars each! The tickets are right behind the goal on the lower deck, so yea…pretty good seats, but WoW they’re expensive!

These seats were put up for sale on the FIFA Marketplace, which is the official platform for people to resell tickets, by someone who probably bought the original tickets for around $10,990 dollars each for these kinds of high-end seats. According to the FIFA Marketplace, people are free to put tickets up for resale at whatever price they want, although that certainly works in FIFA’s favor since they take a 15% cut of all sales.

FIFA is projected to bring in around $11 billion in revenue from the 2026 World Cup. This makes this year’s World Cup the most lucrative soccer tournament ever in history. The tournament will feature an expanded 48-team format, with a record-breaking $871 million dollars in prize money pool for participants including $50 million dollars for the winning team, and $9 million dollars for the last place team.

Approximately 6.5 million fans are expected to attend the 104 matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being held in cities across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with the final match being held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

I’m a huge soccer fan, but I think I’ll save my $2.3 million dollars and just watch the final match on YouTube TV.

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The Business Behind The News is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.