The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Thursday and the Nasdaq Composite 0.7%, after the Fed chief said recent inflation was uncomfortably above the levels that the central bank seeks and he sounded somewhat less confident about the economic outlook than earlier in the year. The Dow industrials rose 0.2%. With major indexes hovering near all-time highs, some money managers say stocks may struggle to power ahead in the coming weeks as an uptick in Covid-19 infections could threaten the global reopening. In global trading today, Asian indexes closed mostly lower, Europe was flat at midday and U.S. stock futures edged up.

Concerns over higher inflation and its impact on future earnings, as well as worries that the Fed may reduce its level of support, are also weighing on sentiment. OPEC said Thursday that a strong recovery in global oil demand next year could accelerate the pace of inflation and pressure countries with high debt levels. Separately, the Labor Department reported that claims for first-time unemployment benefits fell to a new pandemic low of 360,000 last week. The Fed has said that inflation and employment are key factors in determining monetary policy.

• AMC and GameStop swung wildly on Thursday, extending a bout of volatility that has delivered deep cuts to small investors this week. (🎧 What’s News: WSJ's Rochelle Toplensky on the turbulent time for meme stocks.) 
   
• When online brokerage Robinhood starts trading at the end of this month, it will join companies that are loosening lockups on insiders. (▶️Video)
   
• Sovereign-wealth funds are investing more at home, as governments lean on them to reboot pandemic-hit economies.
   
• 🎧Your Money Briefing: CPA Ed Slott explains the “mega-backdoor” Roth IRA strategy for building retirement savings.

U.S. shoppers likely boosted spending at retailers in June, but weak auto sales linked to supply disruptions could have restrained revenue gains. Economists estimate the Commerce Department will report today that retail sales—a measure of purchases online, at stores and at restaurants—fell by 0.4% last month compared with May. An overall June decline would mark the second month of lower retail sales. Excluding autos—a sometimes volatile category of products—sales are estimated to have risen by 0.4% in the same period.

• Heard on the Street: Car prices are going up sharply, but thanks to longer loans, the monthly cost of buying one is rising more slowly. There are pluses and minuses to that dynamic.
   
• The smartest strategies if you are in the market for a vehicle. 

Three large hospitals are declining to administer Biogen’s new Alzheimer’s treatment amid a debate about the drug’s effectiveness and whether the FDA lowered its standards in approving the medicine. The Cleveland Clinic, Mount Sinai Health System in New York and Providence in Renton, Wash., said they wouldn’t give Aduhelm to patients.

Resistance to the drug, which is also called aducanumab, from some hospitals and insurers may not affect Biogen, which analysts project could eventually ring up billions of dollars in sales from the drug. Some skeptical doctors have said they won’t deny Aduhelm to interested patients.

Intel is exploring a deal to buy GlobalFoundries, one of the largest specialist chip-production companies. The move would turbocharge Intel’s plans to make more chips for other tech companies and rate as its largest acquisition ever. A deal could value GlobalFoundries at about $30 billion, but it isn’t guaranteed one will come together, and GlobalFoundries could proceed with a planned initial public offering.

In other tech news…

• Netflix has hired a Facebook executive to oversee a new unit dedicated to making videogames.
   
• The EU’s top antitrust regulator foresees greater alignment with the U.S. on competition enforcement, particularly in the tech sector.
   
• The antitrust partnership of Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas, and Dina Srinivasan, a left-leaning independent scholar, in a lawsuit against Google is part of a wave of bipartisan scrutiny of technology giants. 
   
• China sent regulators including state-security and police officials to Didi Global’s ride-hailing business as part of a cybersecurity investigation.

The U.S. is investing overseas to advance American national-security interests, as it wants ports, cellular networks and other strategic assets to stay in friendly hands. At the forefront of this effort is an agency Congress overhauled in 2019, the International Development Finance Corp. The DFC’s $60 billion investment cap exceeds the combined resources of its counterparts in the other six nations in the Group of Seven wealthy democracies.

The Trump administration was quick to use the DFC, discussing purchasing a shipyard with Greek officials and offering loans to get Ethiopia to shun 5G cellular equipment from China’s Huawei. The Biden administration wants to go further, to offset Beijing’s vaccine diplomacy and other efforts.

How U.S. university graduates compare on debt-to-income. The Journal assembled data that allows you to look up students’ earnings after graduation, compared with their debt load, for most universities. You can use the tool to compare undergraduate degrees, as well as master’s, doctorates and professional degrees.

🎧The Journal: Reporter Melissa Korn discusses how student debt has affected graduates and explains why some who attended elite schools seem to have the worst outcomes.

From her interview with The Journal podcast: I don’t think it can be overstated how much of an impact this has on the psyche of a lot of these graduates. And not that they’re ignoring it or trying to walk away from it, but it just, it doesn’t seem real. It’s like Monopoly money. I had some say, ‘Listen, I want to start a family, and I don’t think I can. I don’t think it’s fair for me to have kids.’ With $300,000, $400,000 in debt hanging over their heads, that stability, for many of them, seems really unimaginable. melissa.korn@wsj.com

Covid-19 cases and deaths have climbed rapidly in Indonesia in recent weeks, as the Delta variant has helped fuel a devastating surge that echoes the one that tore through India in the spring. Whole families are becoming ill, hospitals are overwhelmed and people are lining up to buy oxygen. Daily cases hit a record on Thursday with 56,757 new cases reported, along with 982 deaths.

• Telemedicine has played a vital role in much of the developing world with weaker healthcare systems, and particularly in India during the surge in coronavirus cases. 
   
• President Biden said he expected to give an update on whether his administration would lift a ban on travel from Germany and other parts of Europe in the coming days.

• Canada could reopen the border to U.S. tourists in mid-August, after closing it to most Americans since March 2020.

What We’re Following

▶️Video: NASA is planning two missions to Venus to assess if the now-toxic planet once had an ocean, continents and life. Scientists are beginning the effort on Earth by training sensors and machine learning systems to analyze the building blocks of our own planet. Photo illustration: Laura Kammermann

Hong Kong: The Biden administration is warning American businesses about the increasing risks of operating in Hong Kong as China’s tightening grip on the city causes business conditions to deteriorate. 

Heat Wave: Another heat wave is set to hit parts of Montana and Idaho this weekend as firefighters across the West battle dozens of blazes and state leaders activate more resources to support them.

Europe Floods: Rescuers in Germany and neighboring countries are racing to find survivors from the region’s worst flooding this century, as the death toll tops 100 with hundreds still missing following days of torrential rainfall.

Buyer Beware: The Surfside, Fla., condo collapse shows how crucial it is for buyers to not only verify the financial soundness of the condo association, but the soundness of the building as well. (▶️Video: Surfside recovery efforts near the final stage as the death toll tops 100.)

Shoring Up: The Biden administration is set to decide today whether to continue a Trump-era policy change that allows federal funds to be used for replenishing shores with sand from protected areas.

Space Flight: The person who paid roughly $30 million for a seat aboard Blue Origin’s space flight next week won’t be on the trip, and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen will join the launch instead. The roughly 10-minute flight would make him the youngest astronaut to travel to space.

Life & Arts

On the cover of WSJ. Magazine’s summer digital issue, available on Apple News+ today: gymnast Simone Biles, who at 24 has defied expectations to prove she’s stronger than ever as she heads into the Tokyo Olympics.

Elsewhere in the issue, a neglected plot of the U.K.’s renowned Sissinghurst Castle Garden returns to its Mediterranean roots; fashion designer Tory Burch on the opening of her new Soho store; an exploration of the tumultuous post-pandemic art world; and a check-in with late singer Prince’s estate, which will release a posthumous album this summer.

Joshua Vish, at age 36, is the oldest lifeguard at the pool he works at in Dormant, Pa. He says the job is a dream come true. Maybe even a life-saver. (Read)

Rapper Pop Smoke has the most popular hip-hop album of 2021, more than a year after his death. (Read)

Today’s Question and Answer

In response to our question about your favorite Olympics memory:

Ann Feyerherm, Colorado
It was 1984, and the first women’s marathon was included in the competition. I had recently moved to California and was able to get a ticket to the event at the L.A. Coliseum. Joan Benoit, wearing her white painter’s cap, entered solo into the arena.  She took off her hat and waved it to the crowd. We were all on our feet, standing, cheering, clapping. It was an absolutely electric feeling. We were one massive, appreciative crowd as we saw the first women’s marathon winner, an American, wave that flag.

Charles Burwell, California
Midori Ito’s exuberant display of skating in 1998’s Alberta Games. All the expectations and attention could have made the fall at her first attempt at the triple axel a defining moment. But for me her energy, enthusiasm and outright joy at completing the performance have been an inspiration ever since.

Peter Deserto, New York
Winter: The Miracle on Ice, USA beats USSR in hockey. Summer: Bruce Jenner winning the decathlon.

Nancy Irving, Ohio
1968 was a big year for memorable Olympic happenings. My favorite is Dick Fosbury winning the high jump with his radical style. The Fosbury Flop has since become the dominant approach to the high jump.

Ken Larson, Rhode Island
The year was 1984 and music by John Williams was inaugurated to introduce opening ceremonies and events throughout the games, during TV commercials … everywhere. It persists today. A great Olympian effort by a great American artist and composer.

📣 Question for the next 10-Point:
Do you think the U.S. global infrastructure initiative will be successful?

Email us your comments, which we may edit or shorten before publication, to 10point@wsj.com, and make sure to include your first and last name and location. See our comment guidelines.