![Consumer spending, the engine of the United States economy, grew by 11.8 percent in the second quarter, however, exceeding expectations [File: Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/gdp.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Supply-chain constraints and labour shortages continue to temper US economic growth.
Business and Economy
![Melinda French Gates has pledged to spend $1bn towards gender equality projects in the United States, citing low rates of women in leadership positions [File: Michel Euler/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/melinda.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Melinda French Gates, MacKenzie Scott and the foundation of Lynn Schusterman awarded $40m to gender equity projects.
![Investment app Robinhood's stated mission is to 'democratize finance for all', but critics dismiss the lofty ideal as spin [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2-2.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
As Robinhood debuts on the Nasdaq, educators and teen tipsters advise new investors to do their homework.
With its beaches, duty-free shopping and booming real estate, could the island of Hainan become China’s new Hong Kong?
![Facebook's total revenue, which primarily consists of ad sales, rose to $29.08bn in the second quarter from $18.69bn a year earlier, according to IBES data from Refinitiv [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/fb.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The social media giant did, however, beat Wall Street estimates for the second quarter due to increased ad spending.
![Fans organised a boycott of Activision games in solidarity with United States employees under the hashtag #ActiBlizzWalkout [File: Troy Harvey/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/acti.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Maker of Warcraft game is at the centre of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a California agency.
![Syrian prisons 'have been sites of human rights abuses against political prisoners and other detainees', the United States government said on Wednesday [File: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/prison.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The Department of the Treasury said sanctions promote accountability for abuses committed against the Syrian people.
![United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his fellow policymakers voted unanimously to leave interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of their latest two-day policy meeting [File: Al Drago/The New York Times via AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/powell-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
US Fed gently signalled it would be prepared to reconsider current monetary policy should risks to recovery emerge.
![Robinhood warned in a filing ahead of its initial public offering that the company's unconventionally high retail allocation could lead to volatility in its shares [File: Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/invest.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The trading app said it will reserve up to 35% of shares for its app users at the pre-trading range of $38 to $42 a pop.
![A family stands near memorials by the Sandy Hook firehouse in 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut, the United States [File: Craig Ruttle/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AP918060238879.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Settlement is being offered in a lawsuit over how the rifle maker marketed the firearm to the public.
![McDonald’s revenue jumped 57 percent to nearly $5.9bn in the April-June period, beating Wall Street’s forecast of $5.6bn, according to analysts polled by FactSet [File: Matt Rourke/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/mcdona.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
As its dining rooms reopened, the fast food giant drew customers in with new products like its crispy chicken sandwich.
![Simone Biles of Team United States looks on during the Women's Team Final on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 27 [File: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/375289240-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Gap’s Athleta signed Biles to a long-term partnership earlier this year, ending her affiliation with Nike Inc.
![Boeing is struggling to recover from the grounding of the Max, which lasted from March 2019 until late last year, and then the COVID pandemic [File: Elaine Thompson/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AP21115778839011.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Boeing earned $567m in the second quarter, compared with a $2.4bn loss a year ago.
![At one point tycoon Gautam Adani's wealth rose so fast that he was a mere $6bn behind Asia's richest man [File: Adeel Halim/Bloomberg]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/375294783.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The funds earlier had invested in firms that went bankrupt or are being investigated or whose founders have fled India.