Morning Business Report: Global military spending hits a record high

Military spending across the globe hit an all time high last year. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, this can be attributed to the war in Ukraine. China also contributed by beefing up its military.

Stocks fell Tuesday after First Republic Bank shares slid.
More earnings come out today from Meta, Boeing and Hilton Hotels.

Gap is eliminating hundreds of jobs from its global workforce. More recently, the leaders of each of the company’s brands including Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta have been conducting a wide-ranging review. They are working to remove layers of management to speed up decision making.

Consumer confidence worsened in April as Americans become more pessimistic about the job market. Although consumer confidence held steady after the turbulence in the banking industry last month, high inflation and economic uncertainty have continued to weigh take a toll. This pessimism leads to a pullback in spending, which can be a self fulfilling prophecy that slows down the economy.

What are Americans spending their money on? U.S. residents are spending more of their money on legal cannabis than they are on chocolate, craft beer, and topical pain relief. A report from MJBizDaily showed that Americans spent roughly 30 billion dollars on legal marijuana in 2022 while only spending around 20 billion dollars on chocolate.