The retail sales report earlier this week was definitely good news.

Leave to researchers at Harvard to put a damper on it.

Economists at Harvard have been tracking U.S. credit card spending for years. They’ve recently noticed that overall credit card spending has been on the decline.

The worrying news is that more half that decline in credit card spending has come from the wealthiest households.

Sure, racking up less credit-card debt is a responsible and good idea. You could also argue that wealthy households don’t actually NEED to use credit cards.

The problem is that wealthy people spending money is a big part of what keeps our economy going.

The really strange thing is that wealthy Americans aren’t slowing down their credit card spending because they just don’t have the money. Data from the Federal Reserve shows that more than 40% of Americans who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus made $40,000 or less.

The simple fact is wealthy folks just don’t feel comfortable with credit card spending right now.

You don’t become wealthy by simply sitting on cash, though. Instead, wealthy folks are investing in stocks and taking advantage of the downturn.

One of the biggest growth sectors of the economy is legal cannabis.

Cowen & Co. reports that the market is worth $56 billion per year!

Go here to discover my #1 pot stock for 2020.

The Big News . . .

Florida, Arizona and Texas Set Records for New Infections

On Tuesday, Florida reported 2,783 new cases of COVID-19 – a new record for the state. Texas reported 2,622 new cases (plus cases of 1,476 prison inmates who tested positive but hadn’t been reported). In Arizona, cases spiked to 2,392. The surge is being blamed on Memorial Day weekend celebrations. Governors of all three states have said they won’t be shutting down again.

Fauci Says Play It Safe

In a recent interview, Dr. Anthony Fauci has said he’s worried about new infection hotspots including Texas, Florida and Arizona. The doctor, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, continues to urge folks to play it safe. That means avoiding crowds, wearing a mask, washing your hands and practicing social distancing. He also said he’s not thinking much about a possible second wave of the virus – we’re still riding the first.

Big Brother Can’t Find You

Great Britain unveiled a new contact-tracing system last month to help identify people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus. Unfortunately for Britain, it was more fanfare then function. The system was meant to help slow or even stop the spread of the coronavirus. But according to reports, at least some of the contact tracers have failed to contact a single person exposed to the disease. That could slow Britain’s reopening.

Pandemic Sparks Great Cannabis Boom

Pot stocks are surging 70% – doubling the returns of blue-chip stocks. Americans are increasing consumption of cannabis and CBD during the pandemic. And it’s sending these stocks surging. Go here for my #1 stock to BUY NOW.

The Coronavirus Numbers

Here the numbers from Thursday at 12:37 p.m. ET:

8,504,516 Infected worldwide
452,966 Global deaths
2,245,665 Infected in the U.S.
120,160 Deaths in the U.S.

What’s Next?

Stocks are holding their own today as investors take a wait-and-see approach. With cases of the coronavirus spiking, a lot of folks seem to be worried that states will begin closing down again.

So far, most of the states where spikes are occurring are sticking to their reopening plans.

The simple fact is that we can’t afford for the country to remain closed much longer.

We’re going to see more volatility in the markets throughout the rest of the year. Until vaccine is available, the markets are going to rise and fall based on the news about the coronavirus.

One of the best-performing sectors of the market has been cannabis stocks. In fact, the cannabis ETF is already up over 70%. And some top stocks have already doubled or tripled in price!

Go here for urgent details on this new and booming bull market.

Yours in Health & Wealth,
Ben Shepherd