PepsiCo slims down, Wall Street bulks up

S&P 500 logs 7th straight monthly gain

Sportspersons weren’t the only ones setting records last week. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, The Dow and the S&P 500 index ended at all-time highs on Friday after the monthly U.S. jobs report came in better than expected, as the economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and investors shake off delta variant concerns. The U.S. stock market may be on the rise, but so is the Delta variant.

On the government side, last week, the CDC recommended re-masking indoors, even for those vaccinated. Meanwhile, half of California is back under mandatory indoor mask mandates.

On the private side, Home Depot (HD), McDonald’s (MCD), and Target  (TGT) have mandated masks for workers in many locations, regardless of vax status.