Hello, N2K’ers!

I like sugar. Do you like sugar? If the answer is yes, good news: You can now drink more of it in your Coca-Cola.

Also the economy seems to be bearing up remarkably well despite car companies taking multi-billion-dollar hits to their profits, thanks to trade tensions. No wonder you’re shifting some of your savings into investments, my friends.

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Coke confirms it’ll offer a cane sugar version

• Southwest assigned seating begins next Jan

• Scott Bessent urges a review of the Fed

• Americans are shifting savings into investments

• GM takes a billion-dollar tariff hit

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 0.08% ) $DJI ( ▼ 0.6% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.56% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$COKE ( ▲ 0.42% )  $PEP ( ▼ 0.09% )  $ESYJY ( ▼ 1.16% )  $LUV ( ▼ 1.09% )  $JPM ( ▲ 1.01% )  $GM ( ▼ 0.19% )  

Coke confirms it’ll offer a cane sugar version

My best mate Ron is a dentist in England. Once a month he anesthetizes about a dozen kids in an afternoon and whips out all their rotten teeth. He and his colleagues call this “the milk run.”

I wish I was joking 🦷

In somewhat related news: Move over, high-fructose corn syrup! Cane sugar is coming for your throne at Coca-Cola $KO ( ▼ 0.45% ) , which has announced a new Coke made with good, old-fashioned, U.S.-grown cane sugar. President Trump took credit for the move last week.

Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has campaigned against corn syrup, calling it a “formula for making you obese and diabetic.”

Coke CEO James Quincey has high hopes for cane sugar’s debut, claiming it’s part of Coke’s “sweetening toolkit.” Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? However, this toolkit might struggle against PepsiCo’s $PEP ( ▼ 0.09% ) new prebiotic soda. Yes, Pepsi’s new gut-health drink contains — you guessed it — cane sugar, proving even sugary battles can trend health-conscious. It also recently bought Poppi soda, which is also made with cane sugar.

Health experts like Eva Greenthal aren’t buying the hype. “Excess consumption harms health, whether it's cane sugar or corn syrup,” she warned CNN. One can of Mexican coke contains 39g of sugar, or 79% of an adult’s daily allowance.

Song of the day: hard life ‘tears’

British indie band hard life used to be called Easy Life, but they got sued by British low-budget airline EasyJet $ESYJY ( ▼ 1.16% ) . The band announced they would surrender the name after lawyers for the airline called them “brand thieves.” They played a farewell gig under the old moniker, which saw the crowd chanting “f___ EasyJet,” and their new song addresses the controversy, “it’s been a rush, in the hard times, lucky I got friends that I trust. It was easy in my 20s now I gotta lawyer up.” #NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity

Southwest assigned seating begins next Jan

Hell hath frozen over. Southwest Airlines $LUV ( ▼ 1.09% ) is finally joining the rest of aviation civilization by implementing assigned seating. Starting Jan. 27, 2026, no more elbow-jostling for the middle seat or sprinting to row 15 like you’re at the Olympics.

“Assigned seating unlocks new opportunities for our Customers,” said Tony “Don’t call me a roach” Roach, Southwest’s executive VP. This is corporate speak for “you can now fight over legroom in advance.”

The airline is also switching up its infamous boarding process. Instead of the chaotic "Group A, B, and C," passengers will now be assigned a group number, ranked from 1 to 8. Although, who among us ever waits their group being called? Seriously. Let me know in today’s poll. 👇🏻

Oh, and they’re charging for bags now. We’ll miss the “Hunger Games” vibe.

Today on the ‘gram: Self driving bus

Post of the day: WNBA players earn less than a Target store manager?!

Quote of the Day

Scott Bessent urges a review of the Fed

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doesn’t think Fed Chair Jerome Powell needs to leave, despite pressure from President Donald Trump, who last week showed colleagues a letter firing Powell.

“His term ends in May. If he wants to see that through, I think he should,” Bessent told Fox Business. Instead he’s calling for an internal review of the Fed’s operations.

President Trump on Tuesday accused Mr. Powell of being “political” for not voting to cut interest rates this year and ignoring his demands to reduce borrowing costs. Those decisions have so far been unanimously supported by the Fed’s policy-setting committee.

“Our economy is so strong now, we’re blowing through everything, we’re setting records,” the president said at an event. “People aren’t able to buy a house because this guy is a numbskull, he keeps the rates too high, and probably doing it for political reasons.”

One of Bessent’s big sticking points? The Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation of its Washington headquarters. “A review of the decision to undertake such a project by an institution reporting operating losses of more than $100 billion per year should be conducted,” he argued in a fiery post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Bessent is also unimpressed with what he calls the Fed’s “mission creep,” warning that its expansion into non-monetary areas could threaten the independence of its core goals. As Powell’s exit looms, Bessent himself is rumored to be a replacement candidate.

The Wall Street Journal reported this weekend that Bessent is the one who talked Trump out of firing Powell. Bessent told Trump that removing Powell before his term is up next spring could spur a negative reaction in the economy and financial markets, pushing the central bank into uncharted legal and political territory, the Journal reported. Trump pushed back on the story calling it “typically untruthful.”

Trump is also suing the Wall Street Journal over another story, alleging that the article in question falsely claimed that Trump in 2003 wrote and signed a letter that included a drawing of a naked woman for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The paper has responded: “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes, it is still hovering around yesterday’s records!

Americans are shifting savings into investments

In a world of rising interest rates and stubborn inflation, Americans are proving they know where to park their money. According to JPMorgan Chase’s $JPM ( ▲ 1.01% ) latest analysis, more people are moving their cash from traditional checking and savings accounts into higher-yield options like brokerage accounts, money market funds, and certificates of deposit (CDs).

Why settle for crumbs when you can grab the cake, eh, guys? Chris “Sorting it from the Chaff” Wheat from JPM, explains, “Families across many income bands are now seeing a turnaround in their total cash.”

In other words, while inflation-adjusted balances in traditional accounts have stagnated in recent years, total cash reserves — including investment accounts — have grown since mid-2024.

Tell that to my unemployed pal who doesn’t even have a bank account any more.

“What would be the point?” he asked me. “I just use CashApp.”

Yikes. I bought lunch. It is rough out there in the job search, my friends.

GM takes a billion-dollar tariff hit

General Motors $GM ( ▼ 0.19% ) reported on Tuesday that its second-quarter profit plunged by more than a third, largely due to the trade tariffs, which cost the automaker over $1 billion. GM’s announcement comes as Stellantis — $STLA ( ▼ 5.84% ) the maker of Jeep, Chrysler, and Ram vehicles — revealed similar struggles earlier this week, losing $2.7 billion in the first half of the year from tariffs and other trade policies.

The automotive industry, a cornerstone of the American economy employing roughly one million manufacturing workers, is feeling the heat. GM’s representatives emphasized the challenge: “These tariffs are forcing us to reconsider how and where we allocate resources for innovation.”

Meanwhile the broader stock market stayed steady yesterday, suggesting investors are unsympathetic to the supposed plight of American automakers. Despite ongoing trade tensions and tariff impacts, Wall Street continues to defy expectations, with major indexes hovering near record highs. Analysts suggest the U.S. economy is powering through uncertainty, bolstered by strong homebuilder profits and resilient consumer activity.

Poll of the Day: Let’s test your airport patience!

Poll Results: You prefer Jersey Mike’s and it’s not even close!

I asked: What's your favorite chain sandwich shop?

You answered:

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Subway (164)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Jersey Mike's (323 votes)

 🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Firehouse Subs (118)

 🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Potbelly (115)

 🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Jimmy John's (121) 841 Votes

via @beehiiv polls