“When you talk, you are only repeating something you already know, but if you listen, you may learn something new.” — Dalai Lama

1. G20 Recap Following Hamburg Summit — G20 leaders declared in a joint communique “We will continue to fight protectionism including all unfair trade practices,” . The group stepped back from an unequivocal commitment to free trade for the first time since its inaugural summit in 2008. Instead, it said it would “strive to ensure a level playing field,” noting “the importance of reciprocal and mutually advantageous trade and investment frameworks.”
2. Electricity Investment Overtakes Fossils Fuels — fossil fuels are no longer the largest recipient of investment in the energy industry, according to the latest report from the IEA. The electricity sector received the largest level of investment for the first time ever, growing its share by 12 percentage points to 43% between 2014 and 2016. In comparison, over the same period, investments in upstream (exploration and production) oil and gas fell 44%.
3. Hartford Downgraded to Junk by S&P — S&P downgraded Hartford debt to junk bond status last week, citing “growing liquidity pressures” and “weaker market access prospects,” as well as pursuing “expertise in financial restructuring.” Meanwhile, Illinois squirms in the agony of the unknown.
4. Wells Fargo Cutbacks Auto Loans — Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) is scaling back and remolding its auto lending business in response to growing stress in the market, as well as a bank-wide push for more centralized risk controls. Although it was the No. 2 U.S. provider of auto loans less than a year ago, Wells has already cut quarterly originations by nearly 30% over the nine months leading into March 31.
5. AAII Weekly Sentiment Survey — even as the market has started to enter rally mode and the Nasdaq is getting back on its feet, bullish sentiment actually saw a slight decline, falling from its already depressed level of 29.58% down to 28.24%. That’s the lowest weekly print since the start of June.

Also, the percentage of bearish respondents declined from 29.86% down to 29.63%. This week’s print actually marks the sixth straight weekly print where bearish sentiment has been below 30%. That’s the longest streak since last August, when it went eight weeks below 40%.

With bulls and bears both below 30%, that means there are a lot of investors who just can’t make up their minds. That’s reflected in the percentage of neutral investors which came in at 42.13, and is the second-highest weekly reading in neutral sentiment this year.
6. Earnings For the Week of July 17 — below is a list of companies reporting earnings this week.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com:

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