19. Alabama
Population: 5,157,699
GDP growth (Q1 2025): 1%
Unemployment rate (May 2025): 3.3%
Top corporate tax rate: 6.5%
Top individual income tax rate: 5%
Gasoline tax: 49 cents/gallon
Bond rating (Moody's/S&P): Aa1, Stable/AA, Stable
Economic profile sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federation of Tax Administrators, Energy Information Administration (including 18.40 cent/gallon federal tax), Moody's Investor Service, S&P Global Market Intelligence
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Business Wire
28 minutes ago
- Business Wire
Northern Trust Pension Universe Data: Canadian Pension Plan Returns Advanced for Q2 as Equity Markets Rebounded from Tariff Shock Waves
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Canadian pension plans marked a positive finish to the first half of 2025, according to the Northern Trust Canada Universe. The median Canadian Pension Plan returned 0.6% for the second quarter and 1.8% year-to-date for the period ending June 30, 2025. The second quarter saw conflict in the Middle East and many similarities to the first three months of the year, including tariff friction, geopolitical tension, and their cascading impact on global growth. One factor that remained consistent throughout this period was the unpredictability surrounding tariffs and trade. The U.S. administration threatened historic tariffs only to pull them back at times to stimulate trade negotiations. This constant push and pull exercise coincided with significant declines and rallies across financial markets, underscoring the heightened points of volatility observed during the quarter. Central Bank policymakers watched for punitive impacts from tariffs but continued to focus on underlying data points, namely inflation and employment, to guide their decisions. As a result, both the Bank of Canada (BoC) and the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) maintained their benchmark policy rate and range, respectively, throughout the quarter. 'Beneath the mounting tensions and waves of volatility witnessed year to date, pension plan investments have performed reasonably well, contributing to the healthy rise in plan assets this year. This positive performance serves as a cushion providing further support to long term plan sustainability as plan sponsors navigate through uncertain times,' said Jeff Alexander, President and CEO of Northern Trust Canada. The Northern Trust Canada universe tracks the performance of Canadian institutional defined benefit plans that subscribe to performance measurement services as part of Northern Trust's asset service offerings. Amid significant market swings during Q2, equities produced attractive returns while Canadian bonds were impacted by the rise in yields, causing a modest decline as witnessed by the Canadian bond universe. A noteworthy move occurred in the currency market, with the Canadian dollar appreciating over 5% relative to the U.S. dollar, concluding the period at 73.48 cents USD. Canadian Equities, as measured by the S&P/TSX Composite Index, advanced 8.5% for the quarter. All sectors posted positive returns, with the Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors generating the strongest results, while the Energy sector posted the weakest performance. U.S. Equities, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, rose 5.2% in CAD for the quarter. The Information Technology and Communication Services sectors led the way with positive double-digit returns. Meanwhile both the Energy and Health Care sectors experienced double- digit declines for the period. International developed markets, as measured by the MSCI EAFE Index, gained 6.2% in CAD for the quarter. The Communication Services sector was the top performing segment, while Energy and Health Care sectors were the only two sectors generating negative returns for the period. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index generated 6.4% in CAD for the quarter. The Information Technology and Industrial sectors were the best performers, while the Consumer Discretionary sector was the only segment generating a negative return over the period. The Canadian economy continued to face headwinds from tariff and trade uncertainty. Despite some signs of an economic slowdown, pockets of resilience remained. Wage growth was above inflation, personal savings rates remained healthy, and banks have controlled credit losses and built reserves to absorb economic volatility. The unemployment rate nudged up to 6.9% in June from the 6.7% posting in March. The Bank of Canada (BoC) maintained its overnight rate at 2.75% at its June meeting. The BoC cited continued uncertainty around tariffs, a 'softer but not sharply weaker' economy and firmness in recent inflation data as reasons to hold the lending rate at its current level while it continues to assess the timing and strength of downward pressures from a weak economy and upward pressures from rising costs. The Canadian Fixed Income market, as measured by the FTSE Canada Universe Bond Index, posted -0.6% for the quarter. Corporate bonds generated a positive return while both Federal and Provincial bonds declined during the period. Short-term bonds witnessed a modest gain while mid- and long-term durations generated negative returns for the quarter. The U.S. economy held up steady in the face of tariff pressures, trade tensions and a weakening dollar. The annual inflation rate climbed to 2.7% in June from 2.4% in May, representing its highest level since February. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%, its lowest reading since February and down from the 4.2% posted in March. The Federal Reserve (Fed) maintained its fed funds rate at a target range of 4.25% to 4.50%, a level it has held since December. International markets generated healthy returns for the second quarter. The European Central Bank (ECB) cut rates for the eighth time this cycle, taking the deposit facility rate to 2%. Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) maintained its rate at 4.25% at its June meeting, with inflation remaining above the Bank's target. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) also held its benchmark rate steady at 0.5% in June and announced its plans to slow government bond purchases from April 2026. Emerging markets witnessed solid returns for the quarter. At its June meeting, the People's Bank of China (PBoC), held its one-year loan prime rate (LPR) and its five-year LPR steady at 3.0% and 3.5% respectively, based on data suggesting the country remains on track to meet its GDP growth target despite U.S. tariff pressures. The Central Bank of Brazil raised its key Selic rate by 25 basis points to 15.0%, citing sticky inflation and uncertainty driven by U.S. trade policies and volatile global markets. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chose to cut interest rates by 50 basis points in June driven by easing inflation and uncertainty surrounding global trade tensions. About Northern Trust Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking services to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has a global presence with offices in 24 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and across 22 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of June 30, 2025, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$18.1 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.7 trillion. For more than 135 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit us on Follow us on Instagram @northerntrustcompany or Northern Trust on LinkedIn. Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Global legal and regulatory information can be found at
Boston Globe
28 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Kamala Harris will release '107 Days,' a behind-the-scenes look at her historic presidential run
'Just over a year ago, I launched my campaign for President of the United States,' Harris said in a video announcement on Thursday. '107 days traveling the country, fighting for our future — the shortest presidential campaign in modern history. Since leaving office, I've spent a lot of time reflecting on those days and with candor and reflection, I've written a behind-the-scenes account of that journey. I believe there's value in sharing what I saw, what I learned, and what it will take to move forward.' Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp declined to offer any specifics on what Harris will write about, including her thoughts on questions about President Joe Biden's fitness for office but said Harris 'addresses everything we would want her to address.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Harris ended up heading the Democratic ticket after Biden dropped out last July in the wake of a disastrous debate performance, and she was defeated last November by Republican Donald Trump. She would have been the first woman and first woman of color to become president. Advertisement She announced on Wednesday that she will not run for California governor in 2026. Simon & Schuster, based in New York, is calling the Harris book a 'page-turning account,' with 'surprising and revealing insights." 'Kamala Harris is a singular American leader,' Karp said in a statement. ''107 DAYS' captures the drama of running for president better than just about anything I've read. It's one of the best works of political nonfiction Simon & Schuster has ever published. It's an eyewitness contribution to history and an extraordinary story.' Advertisement Financial terms for '107 Days' were not disclosed. In 2019, Penguin Books published Harris' 'The Truths We Hold: An American Journey.'
CNBC
29 minutes ago
- CNBC
Amazon earnings are out Thursday. Here's what top analysts expect
Technology bellwether Amazon is set to release second quarter results after the market close on Thursday, and analysts are bullish heading into the print, believing the worst of tariff fears have subsided. Analysts, on average, expect the dominant e-commerce platform will earn $1.33 per share on roughly $162.1 billion in revenue, according to LSEG. That would correspond to year-over-year earnings and revenue growth of 5.5% and 9.5%, respectively. Amazon is coming off of better-than-expected earnings and revenue in its first quarter. But in its last report, on May 1, the company gave light guidance for the second quarter, citing "tariffs and trade policies" and "recessionary fears" as factors that could affect business this year. Shares of Amazon are up 4.9% this year through Wednesday, underperforming the 8.2% gain in the S & P 500. AMZN 1Y mountain Amazon stock performance over the past year. The stock is well-liked among Wall Street analysts. LSEG data shows that of the 77 analysts covering the Amazon, 22 rate it a strong buy while 48 rate it a buy. Here's what analysts at some of Wall Street's biggest firms are looking for in Amazon's results this time: Bank of America: Buy rating, price target to $265 from $248 The bank expects expecting a second-quarter beat, driven by growth in Amazon's retail business. Faster capital spending at Amazon Web Services should drive growth in the second half of the year and support stock gains, according to analyst Justin Post. "We slightly raise estimates for strong 2Q retail data, FX and Anthropic AI growth, and our revised $164bn 2Q rev. est. is above Street ($162bn). For AWS, we expect 16.5% 2Q growth to decelerate slightly vs 1Q, though strong AI demand and AWS capacity growth to drive 2H acceleration." UBS: Buy, price target to $271 from $249 Analyst Stephen Ju reiterated a buy rating on Amazon ahead of results. His investment thesis is built on expectations of faster share gains with expanding availability of one- and same-day Prime delivery, e-commerce margin expansion and new revenue from Prime Video with ads, a Monday note to clients said. "We raise our price target to $271 from $249 as we take steps to unwind some of the estimate decreases from three months ago, when we were anticipating a greater amount of tariff-driven demand destruction," Ju wrote. "All of AMZN, GOOGL, META, for lack of a better analogy are coiled springs, and we believe Amazon to be 'most-coiled' among our coverage given the more extensive investments across e-commerce, AWS, content/advertising and Kuiper [Amazon's project for global broadband internet access using satellites in low Earth orbit]. As revenue begins to show up more meaningfully, the upward revisions to operating profit and FCF dollars should prove more dramatic vs its peers." Wedbush Securities: Outperform, price target to $250 from $235 Analyst Scott Devitt is looking to see Amazon's retail segment performance and consumer demand trends, momentum in AWS and artificial intelligence monetization and signals as to growth in advertising and capex. "We are constructive on the setup ahead of the report given encouraging U.S. retail data, healthy advertiser sentiment, strong AWS demand, and continued efficiency gains across the business that should drive upside to margin expectations," he said in a Wednesday note. "Still, profitability forecasts for the year remain depressed as investors weigh the impact of tariff/macro uncertainty, currency risk, rising expenses to support AI initiatives and an uncertain cost trajectory associated with Project Kuiper. We think the risk/reward is attractive, and we see opportunity for Amazon to deliver upside to current operating income expectations." Morgan Stanley: Overweight, price target $300 from $250 Analyst Brian Nowak reiterated Amazon as a top pick. He believes AWS could see accelerating revenue with the rapid growth of Anthropic, which he said saw a $4 billion annual run-rate around the end of the second quarter. Nowak expects Anthropic to reach $10 billion in revenue in 2026 and $19 billion in 2027. "Today, we are re-raising our estimates as we adjust for the more constructive macro landscape with lower tariffs," he wrote in a July 10 note. "In all, our new AWS base model could prove conservative if Anthropic continues to grow and GPU supply constraints the door for faster GPU and non-GPU enabled workload growth (as we believe MSFT Azure is currently seeing)." Barclays: Overweight, $240 price target Barclays is bullish on Amazon's longer-term trends. "We see modest upside to our ~9% y/y ex-fx revenue growth estimate for 2Q as consumer trends (incl. Barclay card data) remain solid and tariff headwinds didn't materialize as much as feared 90 days ago and consumer spending remained strong ... Despite this, we aren't expecting an acceleration systemwide for AWS in 2Q but perhaps in 2H (both training and inference revenues on AWS need to be considered ... As additional GPU capacity comes online, we expect AWS revenue to start to accelerate, perhaps in 3Q," analyst Ross Sandler wrote. "For 3Q we expect solid revenue on the back of the extra Prime days and the AWS acceleration, coupled with higher costs." Deutsche Bank: Buy, price target to $266 from $230 Amazon market share gains have accelerated in the absence of e-commerce competitors Temu and Shein, supporting a case for upside in second- and third-quarter numbers, analyst Lee Horowitz said in a July 22 report. "With objectively healthy and consistent revenue trends in the 2Q, a strengthening share position, upside to 2Q operating income, continued momentum in advertising, consistent cost to serve declines and AWS revenue that we expect to accelerate in the 2H, the Amazon earnings growth algorithm is likely to strengthen coming out of 2Q earnings." Citigroup: Buy, price target to $265 from $225 Analyst Ronald Josey said Amazon remains one of Citi's top picks across its internet coverage. "We believe results are likely to be better-than-consensus expectations across both Revenue and Operating Income. AWS revenue growth remains the key focus area and we will be listening for progress with AWS' infra[structure] build-out in 1H which should lead to accelerating growth in 2H25. We believe Retail trends improved throughout the quarter," he said in a July 22 note.
