🐤 Thanks for the memories

🏦 Markets: An action-packed week on Wall Street kicked off yesterday with a bit of a hiccup, but early losses reversed over the course of the day and the major indexes finished Monday right around where they ended last week.

Several of the biggest tech companies are expected to release their latest earnings reports this week and the Federal Reserve is planning a midweek announcement about interest rates. Investors will be paying close attention to all of these developments to determine the short-term direction of the market.

Just like with people, so many of the health issues that dogs face are related to diet. That’s why Nom Nom’s exciting variety of meals are exclusively made from top-quality ingredients and developed by board-certified veterinary nutritionists, devoted to determining exactly what dogs need to live happy and healthy lives. Freshly-made diets like Nom Nom have been shown to support balanced digestion, ideal weights, silky coat and skin, not to mention actual mealtime excitement.

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🥇 Going for the gold: The first full week of the Paris Olympic Games are underway, and there have already been a bunch of medals handed out thus far. By midday yesterday, Team USA was leading the pack with a total of 14 medals. Only two other nations (France with 13 and Japan with 11) had crossed the double-digit threshold. Tied for fourth place were Great Britain, South Korea, and China, which had each earned nine medals. Only 32 of the 206 teams competing have won medals so far, but there are plenty more opportunities to come.

🧑‍⚕️ Putting it to the test: Individuals who are at least 45 years old and at an average risk of colon cancer now have greater access to a new method of testing for the disease. According to the Food and Drug Administration, a blood test made by Guardant Health, has been approved for expanded availability. Shield was already on the market, but the FDA’s approval means insurance will be more likely to cover its use. Those at higher risk of colon cancer are still urged to undergo a colonoscopy, which has a much higher likelihood of finding large polyps.

🛻 Investing in quality: When it comes to economic indicators among American automakers, General Motors has been at the top of the heap lately. Meanwhile, Ford has seen its stock price flounder in response to lackluster earnings reports and concerns over the brand’s quality in recent years. After all, Ford has had the highest number of recalls of any U.S. auto brand in each of the past three years. But there seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. New research indicates that Ford products currently being unloaded at dealerships have seen a significant improvement in build quality and reliability, which could boost its stock price.

🎃 Scaring up sales: We’re all accustomed to seeing Christmas merchandise hit the shelves of retailers earlier and earlier each year, but that’s not the only holiday that companies want to get a head start on promoting. This year, reports show that Halloween, which accounted for more than $12 billion in sales ($6.4 billion of which was candy-related) nationwide last year, is already making an appearance in stores three months before its arrival. Home Depot led the way with displays of skeletons and other spooky stuff making their debut way back in April.

In the age of social media, we’ve all become accustomed to individuals portraying their lives in the best possible light. Families always seem to get along, vacations are always picturesque, and even getting laid off has been turned into a cause for celebration.

Perhaps you’ve seen one of your connections on LinkedIn or some other platform express gratitude after being fired instead of adopting an understandable tone of indignation or confusion. So what’s behind this seemingly incongruent reaction?

A sign of the times

It probably won’t come as a surprise that the economy is in a state of uncertainty and job losses across most industries (most notably in the tech world) are starting to increase.

There were just under 386,000 reported layoffs nationwide between the start of 2024 and June … and those who lost their jobs found themselves competing with a larger pool of applicants for open positions elsewhere.

And that brings us to the reason many newly fired workers put on a happy face — at least in public.

Tech recruiter Alex Fenstermacher said job-seekers feel the need to seize every advantage they can, and that means they can’t afford to burn any bridges.

“Unfortunately, employees understand how they would be ‘blacklisted,’ or lose their referrals from a past company, if they were to ever speak negatively about a company they previously worked for,” he said.

Strike the right balance

Some laid off workers are limited in what they can say due to corporate non-disparagement clauses. But even those who aren’t restrained often feel that bad-mouthing a former employer on a public forum isn’t a wise decision.

Even if their followers likely suspect that an overtly positive post doesn’t tell the whole story, it allows those folks to take the high road and avoid appearing bitter.

We’ve already seen a number of Big Tech companies rush to implement artificial intelligence in virtually every place imaginable, often with disappointing (if not hilarious) results. But Apple is taking a different approach ahead of the long-awaited rollout of its Apple Intelligence system.

Sweet 16

The iPhone maker provided a glimpse into some of the AI-powered tools it plans to include in future operating systems earlier this year at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

A few of the highlights include:

• More powerful assistance from Siri
• A new image generator powered by AI
• Integration with the popular ChatGPT

At the time, many tech insiders believed these features would be included in the iOS 18 system that will power Apple’s forthcoming iPhone 16. That model is expected to launch in September, but potentially without Apple Intelligence.

Instead of potentially jumping the gun and introducing the suite of AI models before they’re ready for prime time.

But that doesn’t mean you should refrain from buying an iPhone 16 if you’re among those looking forward to the introduction of Apple Intelligence … it just means you might have to wait a few weeks to use those tools.

Presto chango

Although the timeline for implementing the new AI features into iPhones and other Apple devices isn’t confirmed, reports suggest the rollout will likely come in the form of an iOS 18.1 update in October.

And the good news for anxious customers is that new devices sold after that point can receive instant access to all of the new tools via a machine called Presto, which Apple uses to update devices while they’re still in the box.

Developers are expected to start receiving particularly early beta access within the next few days so Apple can identify and address any potential glitches in the program.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with hard work — but just like anything else, too much of it can lead to trouble. That’s why it’s important to understand the warning signs so you can avoid the potential negative consequences associated with becoming a workaholic.

Defining the term

In the broadest sense, workaholics are identified by their compulsion to keep working even at the detriment of other aspects of their lives. We all get busy sometimes, but workaholics never seem to shake the urge to work regardless of the circumstances.

Researchers estimate that about 15% of all people who work fall into this category. It is most commonly associated with people who fall into one of three categories: perfectionists, extroverts, and those with a “Type A” personality, exemplified by a high level of ambition.

As with other compulsive behaviors, workaholism should be considered an addiction with all of the risks thereof.

Causes and cures

With the advancement of technology, tools like email and Zoom have made it difficult to create a clear barrier between our work and personal lives. But if you love doing your job and still make room for family, friends, and self-care, you’re probably not a workaholic … even if you spend a considerable amount of your life focused on work. But if you’re worried that you might be at risk, consider the following questions:

• Are you driven by an internal and uncontrollable motivation to work?
• Are your thoughts almost exclusively focused on work?
• Are you plagued by negative thoughts and emotions when not working?
• Are you trying to accomplish more than is reasonable or rational?

If so, try creating a firm schedule to ensure you’re spending enough of your day recovering from work. Therapy might be able to help you shift your thoughts toward a healthier relationship with work.

My girlfriend invited me over to meet her cannibal father.

He grilled me for hours.