Good morning! It’s Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

Consumers are rallying to speak through their wallets – or lack of spending – as a way to protest the retreat by some companies from DEI initiatives and President Trump's actions to eliminate federal DEI programs since taking office, Betty Lin-Fisher reports.

They are calling on each other to boycott specific retailers and, for one day later this month, to refrain from spending any money at all.

Health companies profit as consumers pay more

Consumers have grown accustomed to rising prices and red tape when filing a health insurance claim or filling a prescription. But for investors, Ken Alltucker reports, health care has proven to be a lucrative industry to grow their returns.

Payouts to shareholders of large publicly traded health companies more than tripled over the past two decades, new research shows. Here are the details.

Why do consumers still feel inflation's sting?

By most accounts, wages have risen faster than inflation in the 2020s. Yet, for many Americans, it doesn’t feel that way. 

A closely watched Index of Consumer Sentiment, published by the University of Michigan, fell to 67.8 in February, its lowest mark since last summer.   

All this consumer ennui comes at a time when inflation is not actually that high. Prices increased by 3% in the 12 months through January. 

Why are consumers still feeling the pinch?

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About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.