• Inflation hits 13-Year High in the US
• Britain’s inflation rate rose to 2.5% in June, far exceeding expectations ..

• China's gross domestic product was up 7.9% YoY

• World Health Organization (WHO) says that the Lambda variant has now been found in 29 countries, and it classified it as a “global variant of interest,". It may lead to a two-to-threefold reduction in vaccine-triggered antibodies, compared with the original COVID-19 strain. 

• The Tennessee Department of Health will halt all adolescent vaccine outreach – notjust for coronavirus, but all diseases – amid pressure from Republican state lawmakers, according to an internal report and agency emails obtained by the Tennessean. If the health department must issue any information about vaccines, staff are instructed to strip the agency logo off the documents.. Dark Ages!
• People who are not vaccinated are bearing the vast majority of disease burden, making up over 99% of hospitalizations and deaths.

• Bloomberg: Global vaccinations of seafarers are going too slowly to prevent outbreaks on ships from causing more trade disruptions, endangering maritime workers, and potentially slowing economies trying to pull out of pandemic slowdowns.

• A key crop waterway in Argentina, the biggest exporter of soy meal, is the driest since 1944, driving buyers to its neighbor and rival Brazil.

• Here is a 52-week money challenge, where you put away $1 to start and continue to increase your savings each week by $1; at the end of the year, you’ve set aside $1,378 with minimal pain. (From Erin Lowry @ Bloomberg)