Good morning. Applications for unemployment benefits fell to a new pandemic low, showing a healing labor market, and the number of people receiving jobless aid has also trended lower as many states end enhanced pandemic programs.

Last week’s applications count marked the lowest level for claims since March 2020, the month the Covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S. economy. New claims and benefits payments have trended downward in recent months, largely reflecting a strengthening economy.

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The Federal Reserve separately said that U.S. industrial production rose in June, but manufacturing output continued to be hindered by supply-chain disruptions, particularly in the automotive sector.

Also Thursday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said recent inflation was uncomfortably above the levels the central bank seeks, concluding two days of testimony in which he sounded somewhat less confident about the economic outlook than earlier this year. 

• Republicans Hammer Biden on Inflation as He Heralds Economic Recovery
• How Is the Economy Doing? Here’s What Banks Say

Charles Schwab Corp., Kansas City Southern and State Street Corp. are among the companies scheduled to release earnings today.

Economists estimate the Commerce Department will report that retail sales—a measure of purchases at stores, at restaurants and online—fell by 0.4% last month compared with May.

Morgan Stanley said second-quarter profit rose 10% from a year earlier, thanks to a boost in fees from deal making and advising wealthy clients.

Like the other big banks that reported earnings this week, Morgan Stanley delivered strong results across several business lines on the back of corporate America’s rapid rebound this spring. 

• Amid a two-year push by Boeing Co. to improve how it handles engineering, safety and quality, the manufacturer is encountering new snags that are adding pressure to its bottom line.
   
• Intel Is in Talks to Buy GlobalFoundries for About $30 Billion
• Rio Tinto’s Mines Hit By Covid-19 Restrictions
• UnitedHealth’s Profit Declines as Patients Seek Deferred Care

General Motors Co. is advising owners of its previously recalled Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles to once again park outdoors after two cars that had been repaired caught fire.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the vehicles’ cell packs have the potential to smoke and ignite internally. The agency opened an investigation into the Bolt in October.

• CVS Pulls Two Sun-Care Products After Neutrogena Sunscreen Recall
• China Sends State Security, Police Officials to Didi for Cybersecurity Probe

Robinhood Markets Inc. revolutionized online trading. Now, as it prepares to list its own shares, the upstart broker is taking aim at a pillar of the traditional IPO process: lockups.

When Robinhood shares start trading at the end of this month, employees will be able to sell 15% of their holdings immediately, rather than after the traditional six-month lockup period, according to a regulatory filing. 

• Self-Driving Startup Aurora to Go Public Through SPAC
• ServiceMax, Backed by Silver Lake and GE, to Go Public in $1.4 Billion SPAC Deal

Every weekend we select a handful of articles we think are worth a bit of your time, either because they peel back the layers on a compelling business story or somehow make us look at business in a different light.

• The Atlantic looks at why many Americans have received Amazon.com Inc. packages they didn’t think they ordered.
• New York Magazine’s The Cut explores the growing business of email newsletters.
• Tech companies compete over users’ private data, Protocol reports.

Southwestern Energy Co., a Spring, Texas-based natural-gas exploration firm, appointed Carl Giesler Jr. chief financial officer, effective July 19. Michael Hancock, who has served as CFO on an interim basis, will continue as vice president of finance and treasurer. Mr. Giesler most recently served as chief executive at SandRidge Energy Inc.

Air Products and Chemicals Inc., an Allentown, Pa.-based seller of chemicals and gases, disclosed compensation details for its incoming chief financial officer, Melissa Schaeffer. She is set to receive a base salary of $550,000 and a target annual incentive plan payout of 75% of her salary. Ms. Schaeffer would also receive a target annual long-term equity incentive of $1.2 million, which would be granted in December, the company said.

Follow the CFO Journal team on Twitter: @CFOJournal, @kcbroughton, @markgmaurer and @Nina_Trentmann.

CFO Journal's bureau chief, Nina Trentmann, can be reached at nina.trentmann@wsj.com.