Good Morning! Today’s edition is 1,061 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Vaccine schedule review

• North Korea plans a tourist beach resort

• Can foods boost metabolism

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Big Stories

FICO Includes Buy Now, Pay Later Loans

FICO will start including Buy Now, Pay Later loans in credit scores this fall.

• The credit scoring company is rolling out a new model that factors short-term installment loans into consumer scores, addressing what experts call "phantom debt" that has masked Americans' true financial obligations. BNPL loans, typically marketed as zero-interest and requiring no credit checks, haven't fit traditional lending models that credit bureaus use, leaving hundreds of millions of transactions invisible to lenders.

• For consumers who make timely BNPL payments, the change could help build credit scores that currently don't benefit from responsible use of these loans. FICO's study of 500,000 BNPL borrowers found that consumers with five or more loans, well above typical usage, saw scores increase or remain stable. The integration could also prevent over-borrowing by making consumers' total debt obligations visible across multiple BNPL providers.

• Adoption will be gradual since many BNPL companies don't share data with credit bureaus, and lenders can choose whether to use the new scoring model. Consumer advocates worry about unintended consequences for women of color and consumers with existing credit problems, who use BNPL services more frequently. With average loan amounts around $135, experts say the score changes will likely be modest for most consumers.

Vaccine Schedule Review

The RFK Jr.-appointed vaccine panel announced a review of the entire childhood immunization schedule.

• The CDC's vaccine advisory committee voted to establish two new working groups to examine the cumulative effects of all childhood vaccines and review vaccines that haven't been assessed in over seven years. Committee chair Martin Kulldorff noted that American children receive more vaccines than those in "most other developed nations" and questioned whether some shots, like hepatitis B at birth, are necessary.

• The announcement came as the committee voted 5-2 to recommend a new RSV antibody shot for infants, marking the first decision since RFK Jr. appointed hand-selected members to replace the entire panel. The vote shows the new committee isn't uniformly opposed to vaccines, with one member calling current RSV protection rates "a truly spectacular accomplishment."

• The committee also asked for placebo-controlled trial data on COVID vaccines rather than accepting real-world effectiveness studies. The shift toward requiring controlled trials could change how future vaccines are evaluated.

Graduate Unemployment Woes

Recent college graduates are facing the highest unemployment in over a decade.

• College graduates ages 22-27 have an unemployment rate of 5.8%, well above the national rate of 4.2% and the highest in 12 years, excluding the pandemic. Economists call it a "no-hire, no-fire" economy where companies avoid new hiring but don't lay off workers.

• Several factors may be contributing to the hiring slowdown. Nearly half of all workers now hold four-year degrees compared to 26% in 1992, making diplomas less distinctive. Economic uncertainty has also made companies reluctant to hire entry-level workers. The role of AI remains debated - while LinkedIn's economist says there's 'no broad-based evidence' of hiring impacts, computer science jobs for young graduates fell 8% since 2022, even as older graduates gained.

• Companies like Amazon and Shopify have announced plans to reduce corporate hiring in favor of AI solutions, suggesting the tight entry-level market may persist. Despite the uncertainty, most economists say college degrees offer 'clear lifetime benefits' with higher pay and less unemployment.

Quick Stories

US News

• Hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman pledged "hundreds of millions of dollars" to fund any candidate capable of defeating Democratic Socialist frontrunner Zohran Mamdani in New York City's November mayoral election. (More)

• The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Thursday that South Carolina can defund Planned Parenthood through Medicaid, concluding that individual patients cannot sue states to enforce their right to choose medical providers. (More)

• Dallas-area families and faith leaders filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block a new Texas law requiring Ten Commandments displays in every public school classroom, citing church-state separation violations. (More)

World

• North Korea will open a beach resort on its east coast next week, capable of accommodating 20,000 annual guests, as Kim Jong-un tries to develop the country's tourism sector. (More)

• Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday that striking a US air base in Qatar delivered a "slap to America's face" in his first comments since ceasefire talks with Israel. (More)

• An 8-year-old Chinese girl survived more than seven hours trapped in a sewer after heavy rain swept her underground while she was retrieving a lost shoe. (More)

Business & Economy

• US stock markets closed higher on Thursday (S&P +0.80%, Nasdaq +0.97%, Dow +0.94%). Stocks rose to session highs after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said July tariff deadlines "are not critical" and could be extended. (More)

• The US dollar sank to a more than three-year low Thursday amid mounting market concerns about Federal Reserve political independence. (More)

• Nike expects sales and profit declines to moderate going forward after posting its biggest quarterly loss from turnaround efforts. New $1 billion tariff costs will also require supply chain adjustments. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

• Former Ravens kicker Justin Tucker received a 10-week NFL suspension Thursday for violating the league's personal conduct policy after 16 massage therapists reportedly accused him of sexual misconduct between 2012-2016. (More)

• Three thieves broke into Brad Pitt's Los Angeles home late Wednesday, ransacking the property and fleeing with stolen items. Pitt was reportedly not present during the burglary. (More)

• Amazon MGM Studios announced Wednesday that Denis Villeneuve will direct the next James Bond movie. It will be the first Bond film since the studio took creative control from the Broccoli family. (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

• Scientists discovered a new dog-sized "runner" dinosaur called Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae in Colorado that lived 150 million years ago. (More)

• British ash trees are naturally evolving greater resistance to deadly ash dieback disease that threatens 85% of their population. (More)

• A Japanese court banned Google from selling Pixel 7 devices in Japan after ruling the company infringed on Pantech mapping patents. Newer Pixel generations could also see similar sales restrictions (More)

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