The rich have gotten much richer

TheStreet’s Conway Gittens brings you the biggest news of the day, including what investors are watching and how the rich continue to get richer.

Transcript

00:00I'm Conway Gittins reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here's what we're watching on the street today.

00:04The economy injected a much-needed sense of optimism

00:08one day after the worst single drop for the stock market in a year and a half. The Dow finished higher

00:13but the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 finished lower.

00:18Stronger than expected second quarter GDP and a drop in weekly jobless claims confirmed hope for a September interest rate cut.

00:25Investors now look ahead to the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, which comes out on Friday.

00:30In other news, the world's wealthiest 1% saw their net worth jump by 42 trillion dollars over the past decade.

00:37According to Oxfam International, that's 34 times more than the bottom half of the world's population.

00:43Adjusting for inflation, the ultra-wealthy became

00:47$400,000 richer per person on average. That's over the past 10 years compared to just

00:53$335 in wealth accumulation for those in the lower 50%.

00:57Max Lawson of Oxfam International says quote,

01:01Inequality has reached obscene levels and until now governments have failed to protect people and planet from its catastrophic effects.

01:09Oxfam is calling on government leaders to create a more cohesive and

01:13coordinated tax strategy for the super-rich.

01:16According to its findings, if a 2% minimum global tax for the uber-rich was put in place, that would bring in an additional

01:23$200 to $250 billion annually to help address wealth inequality.

01:29That'll do it for your daily briefing from the New York Stock Exchange. I'm Conway Gittens with the street.