Stock Market News: Amazon’s Prime Day, Microsoft layoffs, PGA-LIV golf hearing

Traders on the floor of the NYSE. REUTERS.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Tuesday, helped by gains in financial shares as investors awaited key inflation reports and the start of second-quarter earnings in the coming days.

Investors are looking for further clues on whether price pressures are abating and if the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate hiking cycle.

U.S. consumer price data is due on Wednesday, while a producer prices report is due on Thursday.

A detailed view of a flag with LIV Golf logo is seen during the pro-am prior to the LIV Golf Invitational - Portland at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club on June 29, 2022 in North Plains, Oregon. Jamie Squire/LIV Golf/via Getty Images

Two PGA Tour officials went before a Senate panel on Tuesday to defend the U.S.-based golf organization's decision to end a rivalry with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit and form a unified commercial entity.

PGA Tour Chief Operating Officer Ron Price and board member Jimmy Dunne are to testify before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Senator Richard Blumenthal, the panel's chair, and Ron Johnson, its top Republican.

"Today’s hearing is about much more than the game of golf," Blumenthal said in opening remarks. "It is about how a brutal, repressive regime can buy influence – indeed even take over – a cherished American institution simply to cleanse its public image.

"A regime that has killed journalists, jailed and tortured dissidents, fostered the war in Yemen, and supported other terrorist activities," said the senator, who spoke of a feeling of "betrayal."

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. REUTERS

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday that the IMF expects global growth around 3% annually for the next five years, well below historical averages of about 3.8%, which may pressure capital flows.

Georgieva said in opening remarks at an IMF economics lecture that governments, particularly in emerging markets, will need to tighten fiscal policy to keep debt under control and to help inflation. They also will face further tightening of financial conditions as inflation persists, and "there may be impact on capital flows," she said.

A Boeing 737 Max 7 at Boeing's Paine Field in Everett, WA

Boeing delivered 60 passenger jets in June as it rebounded from production issues, boosting its total for the first half to 266 airplanes and marking a 23% improvement from the first six months last year.

Despite several production flaws that dogged deliveries over the half, the U.S. planemaker appears on track to meet annual targets to deliver at least 400 narrowbody 737s and 70 widebody 787 Dreamliners in 2023, having delivered 216 737s and 31 Dreamliners over the first six months of the year.

Boeing delivered 48 of its bestselling 737 MAXs in June, an improvement from May when the company delivered 35 MAXs.

It also delivered four 767s - including the first KC-46 military tanker that has been reworked since a fuel tank problem was discovered in March - as well as six 787 Dreamliners, one 777 freighter and one 737 that will be turned into a P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft for South Korea.

A 2021 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty Limited Crew Cab Dually courtesy of RAM.

Chrysler-parent Stellantis said Tuesday a new death had been reported after a Takata air-bag inflator exploded in a 2003 Dodge Ram pickup, prompting the automaker to urge 29,000 owners to immediately stop driving pending repairs.

This is believed to be the first fatality involving a Takata passenger-side bag. The "Do Not Drive" warning applies to 29,000 2003 Dodge Ram pickups. In November, Stellantis urged owners of 276,000 other older U.S. vehicles to immediately stop driving after three other crash deaths tied to faulty Takata air bag inflators were reported in 2022.

Over the last decade, more than 67 million Takata air bag inflators have been recalled in the United States and more than 100 million worldwide, in the biggest auto safety callback in history. More than 30 deaths worldwide -- including at least 25 U.S. deaths -- and hundreds of injuries in various automakers' vehicles since 2009 are linked to Takata air bag inflators that can explode, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks.

A customer uses a Bank of America ATM. REUTERS.

Bank of America on Tuesday agreed to pay $150 million in fines to U.S. regulators and over $100 million to harmed consumers to settle claims the bank systematically double-charged fees, withheld promised credit card perks and misappropriated customers' information.

Over multiple years, Bank of America reaped tens of millions of dollars by charging multiple fees to customers who did not have enough funds in their accounts, regulators said in statements on Tuesday.

From at least 2012, bank employees also illegally applied for and enrolled consumers in credit card accounts without their knowledge, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said in its statement.

The bank, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, also failed to make good on cash rewards and bonus points promised to tens of thousands of credit card customers, according to the CFPB.

An Amazon Prime delivery van drives down a city street. REUTERS.

Amazon.com hopes to tempt U.S. shoppers on Tuesday to open inflation-thinned wallets by offering deeper discounts on a wide range of goods and services during this year's "Prime Day" 48-hour shopping event, including its first-ever travel discounts.

A year of inflation has lifted mortgage rates, rents and food prices for consumers ahead of Prime Day, which falls on July 11-12 this year.

CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram said Amazon's U.S. Prime Day discounts this year are mostly deeper than in previous years.

The online retailer is marking 60% off Gap clothing, 50% off on Sony headphones and 40% off Peloton exercise bikes, according to Bank of America.