Raphael Stevens

Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder” generated $143 million during its domestic opening.
“Thor: Love and Thunder” is estimated to have drawn in more than 10 million moviegoers this weekend, about 57% of all cinema patrons, according to data from EntTelligence.
The total domestic box office is expected to reach between $200 million and $250 million, higher than the same weekend in 2019, which had similar content releases.

Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth star in Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

With “Thor: Love and Thunder” zapping up an estimated $143 million during its domestic weekend, box office analysts feel confident that movie theaters are no longer on the road to recovery and have reached a pace of normalcy seen in pre-pandemic times.
Over the weekend, the newest entrant in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe tallied $159 million internationally, bringing its global haul to $302 million.

“Marvel fans turned out in force yet again this weekend as ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ followed the success of Minions last week to combine for the first pair of $100 million openers on consecutive weekends since 2018,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
“Thor: Love and Thunder” is estimated to have drawn in more than 10 million moviegoers this weekend, about 57% of all cinema patrons, according to data from EntTelligence.
With continued ticket sales for movies like Paramount and Skydance’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and “Jurassic World: Dominion” as well as Pixar’s “Lightyear” and Warner Bros.’ “Elvis,” this weekend’s domestic box office will rake in well over $200 million, if not closer to $250 million.
“It’s noteworthy that this weekend will reflect a level of normalcy at the box office that has been building since the beginning of the summer movie season with a diverse selection of hits from the superhero, action, comedy, family, indie, and horror genres that are now joined by ‘Thor: Love And Thunder,'” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Dergarabedian noted that three years ago, during the same weekend, Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” topped the box office alongside Disney’s “Toy Story 4” and “Aladdin,” Universal’s “Yesterday,” Warner Bros.’ “Annabelle Comes Home” and A24’s “MIdsommar.”

Those films generated $185 million during that weekend, a sum that will “easily be beaten by this weekend’s overall lineup as ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ hammers out another solid Marvel debut,” he said.
While the overall number of wide releases in 2022, is down more than 30% compared to 2019, Dergarabedian said this year’s box office is hitting its stride.
“Perhaps we can finally proclaim that the industry is not on the ‘road’ to recovery but has finally ‘arrived’ at a destination of normalcy that has been a long time coming for movie theaters,” he said.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal distributed “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “Yesterday.”

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Ford’s first real attempt at an electric vehicle has been quite a hit with critics.
The Mustang Mach-E replaced the Tesla Model 3 as Consumer Reports’ Top Pick in February 2022. It was named the Top Car in the Automobile Association of America (AAA) Car Guide in May. Car and Driver awarded it the magazine’s first EV of the Year award in June 2021.

It was named the Utility of the Year at the 2021 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards — one of the most prestigious awards in the automotive industry.
All the praise is helping Ford take on Tesla, the biggest brand in EV’s in the U.S. in terms of sales.
Ford’s decision to call its first EV a Mustang drew some criticism from purists, with some arguing the vehicle isn’t a real Mustang. But Ford wanted to position its first EV as a brash and fun car that draws on its heritage.
The highest-end Mach-E is the GT, which can travel from 0-60 mph in as fast as 3.5 seconds. Tesla’s Model Y Performance, which costs about $7,000 more than the GT, claims the same acceleration time and has a longer range.
But reviewers have said the Mach-E has some features in its favor, apart from its lower price, such an in-vehicle entertainment system that’s easier to use, superior driver-assistance features and better reliability.
Watch the video to see CNBC’s Rob Ferris take the car out for a test drive.

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The demand for Series I bonds has skyrocketed as investors seek refuge from soaring prices and stock market volatility.
Experts cover the key things to know about interest rate resets, taxes and inherited assets.

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The demand for Series I bonds, an inflation-protected and nearly risk-free asset, has skyrocketed as investors seek refuge from soaring prices and stock market volatility.
While annual inflation rose by 8.6% in May — the highest rate in more than four decades, according to the U.S. Department of Labor — I bonds are currently paying a 9.62% annual rate through October.

That’s especially attractive after a rough six months for the S&P 500, which plummeted by more than 20% since January, capping its worst six-month start to a year since 1970.
More from Personal Finance:How much cash you need to ride out a recession at different life stagesSome experts say a recession is coming. Here’s how to prepare your portfolio’It’s like going to the DMV online’: What to know about buying Series I bonds via TreasuryDirect
Indeed, since the annual I bond rate jumped to 7.12% in November, 1.85 million new savings bond accounts have opened through June 24, according to Treasury officials. 
“I bonds are a wonderful tool for both cash reserves and investment portfolios,” said certified financial planner Byrke Sestok, co-owner of Rightirement Wealth Partners in Harrison, New York.
Backed by the U.S. government, I bonds won’t lose value. And if you’re comfortable not touching the money for 12 months, the current rate “dwarfs” other options for cash reserves, he said.

Still, there are nuances to consider before piling money into these assets. Here are answers to some of the trickier I bond questions. 

1. How does the interest rate on I bonds work?

I bond returns have two parts: a fixed rate and a variable rate, which changes every six months based on the consumer price index. The U.S. Department of the Treasury announces new rates on the first business day of May and November every year. 
With inflation rising over the past year, the variable rates have jumped, increasing to an 7.12% annual rate in November and 9.62% in May. However, the initial six-month rate window depends on your purchase date.  
For example, if you bought I bonds on July 1, you’ll receive the 9.62% annual rate through Dec. 31, 2022. After that, you’ll begin earning the annual rate announced in November.

2. How do I pay taxes on I bond interest?

While I bond interest avoids state and local levies, you’re still on the hook for federal taxes.
There are two options for covering the bill: reporting interest every year on your tax return or deferring until you redeem the I bond.
While most people defer, the choice depends on several factors, explained Tommy Lucas, a CFP and enrolled agent at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida.

All of these decisions come back to the ultimate purpose of this investment.

Tommy Lucas
Financial advisor at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo

For example, if you opt to pay taxes on your I bond interest every year before receiving the proceeds, you’ll need another source of income to cover those levies.
However, if you’ve earmarked those funds to pay for education expenses, the interest is tax-exempt, so paying levies annually doesn’t make sense, he said.    
“All of these decisions come back to the ultimate purpose of this investment,” Lucas added.

3. What happens to my I bonds if I die?

When you create a TreasuryDirect account to buy I bonds, it’s important to add what’s known as a beneficiary designation, naming who inherits the assets if you pass away. 
Without this designation, it becomes more challenging for loved ones to collect the I bonds, and may require the time and expense of going through probate court, depending on the I bond amount, Sestok explained.   

“Personally, I make sure that my clients do it correctly in the first place,” he said, explaining how adding beneficiaries upfront may avoid headaches later.
However, if you set up an account without a beneficiary, you can add one online by following the steps outlined here at TreasuryDirect. You can call support with questions, but they are currently experiencing “higher than usual call volumes,” according to the website.
With a named beneficiary, I bond heirs can continue holding the asset, cash it in or have it reissued in their name, according to Treasury Direct. 
The accrued interest up to the date of death can be added to the original owner’s final tax return or the heir’s filing. Either way, the beneficiary can decide whether to keep deferring interest or not, Lucas said.

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As parents, we hear a lot about the things we should do with our kids. But it’s also important to flip that around and consider what we shouldn’t do.
As I researched and wrote my book, “Raising an Entrepreneur,” I interviewed 70 parents who raised highly successful adults about how they helped their children achieve their dreams.

Despite the diverse ethnic, socioeconomic and religious backgrounds, there were four things that the parents of these smart, driven and entrepreneurial individuals never did when their kids were young:

1. They never treated their kid’s hobby as a waste of time.

Sports, video games, debating, music, birdwatching — every child of the parents I spoked to had a passion outside of the classroom. The parents never veered their kids away from the hobby because they knew it was keeping them mentally active.
Radha Agrawal is the founder of Daybreaker, a global morning dance movement with over 500,000 community members in 30 cities around the world. Previously, she was the CEO of Super Sprowtz, a children’s entertainment movement focused on healthy eating.
But growing up, her passion was soccer. With support from her parents, she and her twin sister Miki played three hours a day, starting from when they were five years old. Eventually, they played at Cornell University, where they were known as the “Legendary Soccer Twins.”
Although her career today was nothing to do with soccer, Radha told me that she developed a lot of grit and resilience from the sport: “You have to be disciplined. You learn to be organized and focused. And you learn the politics of teamwork, and what it takes to be the captain.”

2. They never made all the choices for their kids.

It can be extremely tempting to constantly make decisions for your kids. After all, you’re the adult — you know your children better than anyone else does, and you don’t want them to suffer.
But successful parents resist that temptation.
Ellen Gustafson co-founded FEED Projects, providing food in schools for children. Today, she is a thought leader and regular speaker on social innovation.
Her mother Maura said to me: “We encouraged her to be independent, and to think for herself. I’d tell her, ‘Trust, but verify. Check it out. Be sure it’s true. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. Just because everyone else is doing it, that doesn’t mean you have to.’ You want your kid to grow up to be cautious, but not fearful.”
“As a parent, you can see what their strengths are,” she continued. “But you have to let them figure it out. The best way to do that is by asking questions like, ‘What choice do you think would be more helpful to you in the future?'”

3. They never prized money or high-paying degrees over happiness.

I have nothing against academic and professional degrees — my husband and I both have graduate degrees, and it has worked for us.
But a degree may represent an expensive waste of your child’s time if it has no connection to their interests. And if their only reason for being in school is to get the piece of paper or make the contacts needed to land a high-paying job.
Someone who loves something enough and works hard at it will find a way to turn it into a living, even without a degree in that field. And they won’t be afraid to tackle an opportunity that won’t pay anything for a few years as they might be if they had to pay off high student debt every month.

4. They never neglected financial literacy.

A final note about money: Although the parents I spoke to never pushed their kids towards pursuing a high-paying job, all of them made an effort to teach their kids about money in one form or another.
Joel Holland sold half of his first company, Storyblocks, for $10 million in 2012. He acquired a strong work ethic at an early age; he and his sister were given the job of sweeping to get their allowance.
“The floors had to be clean enough to eat off of. It taught me about hard work,” he said. “And in grade school, everyone had roller skates, but my parents wouldn’t buy them for me. They told me, ‘If you want them, you have to save your money.’ It made me angry at the time, but it really made me appreciate the value of money.”
His parents also didn’t pay for his college education. Joel went to Babson College on student loans and from the money he made from working.
“Because I paid for college, I never missed a class. I’d calculated the cost of each class at $500,” he said. “If I was tempted to skip a class, I always thought there is nothing I could possibly do during this hour that’s worth more than $500.”
I love Joel’s story because it illustrates why you shouldn’t teach kids that they must go after high-paying careers, but that it is important to learn about money.
If you’re passionate about something, and get really good at it, and get to know it inside and out, you will see something that’s missing, which you can turn into your business. Joel has done this twice.
Margot Machol Bisnow is a writer, mom and parenting coach. She spent 20 years in government, including as an FTC Commissioner and Chief of Staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and is the author of “Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dream.” Follow her on Instagram @MargotBisnow.
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It’s not just hard to buy a new car these days — it’s getting tough to even get one fixed.
There just aren’t enough workers to do the job.

Dealers and auto repair shops are struggling to recruit and retain technicians and other service department workers. Auto dealerships, like many industries, are feeling the effects of what some have termed the Great Resignation, in which workers are quitting at steep rates.
It’s become especially difficult for dealers to retain service advisors, who interact with customers and service managers. But even before that, there has been a stubborn decades-long shortage of auto technicians — the people who fix the cars.
Industry analysts say low pay, lack of a clearly defined career path and a generational shift away from jobs in the trades are making it tough to attract and retain people over the long term.
Meanwhile, insiders say the transition to electric vehicles makes for one of the most exciting times to consider an auto tech career since the dawn of the industry. Some hope the chance to learn cutting-edge technology will help to lure workers back to the field.

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Just because something is discounted on Amazon Prime Day doesn’t mean it’s the best deal you’ll see anywhere, or even all year.
Other retailers are holding competing deals events and some of the best bargains are yet to come.

Prime Day prices may not be Amazon’s best-ever offer

Just because something is discounted on Prime Day doesn’t mean it’s the best deal you’ll see anywhere, or even all year.
Naturally, Amazon will offer the best prices on its own gear like the Kindle, Fire TV streamer and private-label clothing. For example, the e-commerce giant is already advertising a 24-inch Fire TV for only $90, nearly half the retail price, while other early deals include up to 55% off the second-generation Echo Show, Kindle Paperwhite and Eero Mesh Wi-Fi routers.

Keep in mind that some items will be reduced further down the road. Prices on mattresses and outdoor furniture are likely to be lower around Labor Day, toys get marked down the most on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and TVs generally hit their lowest price point ahead of Super Bowl Sunday.
Even Amazon is looking beyond its own Prime Day with a second sales event now slated for the fall.

Competing sale events are upping the ante

Other bargains are not exclusive to Amazon at all. Walmart, Target and Best Buy, among others, are holding competing deals events — as they have in previous years — to coincide with Amazon Prime Day 2022.
This time, Target’s 72-hour “Deal Days” kicks off earlier and runs for longer, starting on July 11, one day ahead of Prime Day. Plus, Target will price match select Prime Day deals and take an additional 5% off for RedCard members.
“Every year, they become a little bit more competitive,” Burrow said.

Also expect to find equally worthwhile deals at Walmart on kitchen appliances, vacuums and Nintendo Switch accessories, he said, and count on Best Buy to compete on electronics and Apple devices.
Meanwhile, other retailers, including Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s, Overstock, Samsung and Saks Fifth Avenue, will offer their own major markdowns, according to Rakuten’s retail and shopping expert Kristen Gall. 

How to make sure you’re getting the best deals

To find the lowest prices overall, start crunching the numbers now, advised Kristin McGrath, a shopping expert at RetailMeNot.

Price trackers are the easiest way to monitor just how good a deal really is, especially for big-ticket items.

Kristin McGrath
shopping expert at RetailMeNot

McGrath recommends a price-tracking browser extension like Camelcamelcamel or Keepa to keep an eye on price changes and get price-drop alerts. “Price trackers are the easiest way to monitor just how good a deal really is, especially for big-ticket items,” she said.
At some retailers, you can even stack deals by using a promo code or digital coupon and then pay with a rewards credit card for extra savings, said Rakuten’s Gall.
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