Also in Weekend Reads: How young people buy homes, the Trump-account lowdown and three stock screens
Financial literacy among adults in the U.S. has hit a low, according to 10 years of data collated by the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center.
The financial media often focuses on investment choices, but it might be more important for people to learn the basics about earning, saving and budgeting first.
Mark Hulbert shared conclusions - based on 10 years of testing by the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center - about a decline of financial literacy among adults in the U.S. You can take the quiz and see your score, along with advice on how to improve your (or your loved ones') financial knowledge.
An earnings-driven bull market could lead to a bubble-burst
This year, the S&P 500 SPX has risen 10.2%, excluding dividends, while its forward price/earnings ratio - the index's weighted ratio of component stocks' prices to consensus 12-month earnings estimates among analysts polled by FactSet - has declined to 20.6 from 22.2 at the end of 2025. This means earnings estimates have been rising more quickly than stock prices.
During 2025, the S&P 500's weighted earnings per share increased 13% from the year before. This year, the S&P 500's earnings per share are expected to increase 26% from 2025, based on consensus estimates.
That raises the question of whether we are at peak earnings growth. Joseph Adinolfi explained how the stock market's double bubble might burst.
More stock-market coverage:
-- Risky leveraged ETFs are booming in 2026. Some worry they could be making the stock market more volatile.
-- Meet the new group of stocks powering the S&P 500 higher
-- The Nasdaq-100 has been far more volatile than the S&P 500. Now add SpaceX to the mix.
-- Why the stock market's red-hot momentum trade might be headed for a violent unwind this month
How can any young adult afford to buy a home?
Moving into your first home means a lot of work, hopefully fueled by decent local pizza.
You have no doubt seen plenty of coverage of how homeownership keeps getting more expensive. But some younger people are still managing to buy homes. Here is how they are getting it done.
More real estate coverage from Aarthi Swaminathan:
-- Mortgage rates jump as tensions with Iran spook bond investors
-- What affordability crisis? Rich home buyers are powering the housing market.
More on Social Security timing
If you are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, you can begin receiving monthly payments as early as 62. But the longer you wait, the higher your payments will be, until they hit their maximum at 70. Take a look at your annual Social Security statement. Chances are you will see the payment increasing by amounts ranging from 7% to 9% a year.
If a retiree is not desperate for the income at 62, the common advice is to wait and receive higher payments later. Discussions about these decisions often focus on life expectancy. The longer you live, the more it might be worth waiting to maximize your payments. But there is another angle you might not have considered. What if you can invest the Social Security payments you begin receiving at 62? Or what if delaying your payments causes you to make large withdrawals from your investment accounts?
In the Help Me Retire column, Alessandra Malito answered those questions in two articles:
-- Am I better off claiming Social Security early and investing the money, or delaying until age 70?
-- My retirement savings will suffer if I delay Social Security. How do I choose between the two?
Time for an adjustment? I started retirement with $3 million. Now I'm 89 and down to $2 million. What if I get sick?
What's going on with those Trump accounts?
President Donald Trump rang the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange while celebrating 530A investment accounts in front of an appropriate audience at the White House on July 6, 2026.
This week, President Donald Trump celebrated the first day of index-fund trading within 530A accounts, which are new tax-deferred retirement accounts for children. Andrew Keshner explained how Trump accounts work and how you might be leaving money on the table.
More coverage:
-- There's a 'Trump account' hack that can unlock decades of wealth-building for your child
-- Only a fraction of eligible children are signed up for 'Trump accounts.' All told, they could be missing out on billions of dollars in wealth.
Earnings-season price swings
The quarterly deluge of corporate earnings reports will accelerate next week. Frances Yue reported on the increasingly sharp reactions for stock prices - up or down - following earnings reports.
Another earnings-season theme: Corporate America is pumping $1 trillion into stock buybacks - but look at what insiders are doing
Career advice
This week in the Dollar Signs column, Aditi Shrikant answered a question from a reader early in their career. What if you don't have the experience required in an entry-level job posting?
SK Hynix ADR
Shares of SK Hynix had soared for 2026, heading into a secondary offering and listing on the Nasdaq exchange on July 10.
Through Thursday, shares of SK Hynix (KR:000660) listed locally in South Korea had risen 236% in 2026, while its rivals in the computer-memory space had also soared. Micron's stock $(MU)$ was up 247% year-to-date through Thursday, while Western Digital's stock $(WDC)$ was up 236%, Seagate Technology shares $(STX)$ were up 223% and Sandisk shares $(SNDK)$ had gained a stunning 683%.
On Friday, American depositary receipts of SK Hynix $(SKHYV)$ were set to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange.
Britney Nguyen described SK Hynix for U.S. investors and interviewed money managers who explained the significance of the ADR listing.
Related coverage:
-- As SK Hynix lands in the U.S., here's why investors should be wary of the chip sector's 'bubblelike' volatility
-- It was the world's hottest stock market. Now South Korea has entered bear territory.
-- As AI spending concerns grow, here's the bet to make ahead of critical stress test, says veteran Jefferies strategist
-- With Micron's stock well off its peak, investors want proof that the AI boom can last
AI developments and other company news
Christine Ji and Hannah Pedone looked into the reasons for the buckling AI trade, with more than two-thirds of stocks in the S&P 500 information technology sector down at least 20% from their recent highs.
More coverage of companies:
-- Delta absorbs highest fuel costs in its history, but also books record revenue
-- Elon Musk's Terafab could give a major boost to this corner of the chip sector
-- Adobe's stock is temptingly cheap. Should investors bite?
-- Meta's stock rebounds as agentic AI coding and custom chips ease spending fears
-- Jeff Bezos's space company may be seeking a valuation more than twice as big as Rocket Lab's
Stock screens
The Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF nearly doubled the return of the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust for five years through July 9.
A momentum stock strategy is one that periodically adjusts toward stocks that have risen the most over the previous year. This type of strategy has worked out well for the Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF SPMO, which has returned 168% over the past five years, while the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY has returned 85%, both with dividends reinvested.
But portfolios built using momentum strategies can crash occasionally. Mark Hulbert applied the results of a new momentum methodology designed to avoid the period crashes to list 10 momentum stocks to consider buying now, along with 10 others to avoid.
Two more screens:
-- Eight microcap stocks of companies expected to grow sales by triple digits through 2028
-- 12 stocks favored to soar in the sector that has missed the 2026 market rally
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July 10, 2026 10:33 ET (14:33 GMT)
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