The third quarter is off to a bullish start, with futures pointing to stocks on Wall Street adding to their string of records. I'm James Willhite, and here's what we're watching ahead of Wednesday's action.

Jobless figures this morning are expected to resume their downward trend after having leveled off in recent weeks. Treasury yields are ticking higher, a turnabout from their recent falls that suggested doubts about the economy in the years ahead. Earnings are due shortly from Walgreens Boots Alliance. Read our full market wrap here.

🔥 Firing up the grill for your 4th of July party could cost a bit morethis year. Our Ryan Dezember reports that overseas demand for propane has depleted domestic stockpiles, leading to potential cold-weather price surges for U.S. households.

Micron Technology: Shares of the chip maker slipped 2% premarket despite a better-than-expected earnings report and strong demand for memory chips.

CureVac: The German company's shares slumped 13% premarket after it released the final results for its once-promising Covid-19 vaccine, indicating it provided less protection than the shots already authorized for use in the U.S.

Hertz: The car-rental company emerged from bankruptcy and tapped directors for a new board.

Franklin Covey: The business consultancy's shares jumped more than 8% off hours after it reported earnings and lifted its forward guidance.

Shaw Communications: The Canadian telecommunications company said its profit rose in the fiscal third quarter as it saw an increase in revenue from wireline consumers.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Lindsay, McCormick and Simply Good Foods are among the companies reporting earnings Thursday.

📰 Enjoying this newsletter? Get more from WSJ and support our work with a special subscription offer.

Propane has rarely been so expensive this time of year, and prices may have to move higher yet to ensure ample supply for winter, when millions of rural Americans rely on the fuel to heat their homes.

At hubs in Mont Belvieu, Texas, and Conway, Kan., propane futures traded Wednesday at $1.09 and 95 cents a gallon, respectively. Those prices are roughly twice their levels during the past two summers. Spot prices have moved in a similar way.

Retail prices have also risen, though not as sharply. The Energy Information Administration said U.S. households can expect to spend an average of 14% more on propane this winter than they did during last year's—and significantly more than that if the weather is colder than forecast.

Now is the time of year when many Americans purchase propane for their grills, but those filling up cylinders ahead of Fourth of July cookouts aren’t driving the gains. Prices have risen because of booming exports, February’s freeze and drillers who have eased off since last year’s Covid-19 pandemic lockdown sank energy prices.

Those factors—and a lot of outdoor heating during the pandemic—have drawn down domestic propane inventories to 17% less than a year ago and about 15% below the five-year average.

Analysts said prices might need to climb higher to discourage foreign buyers. Only then is there likely to be enough in domestic stockpiles to supply a cold winter without price surges or even shortages, they say.

“This extremely tight balance, particularly with increased domestic demand from weather, is likely to elicit some reduction in U.S. propane exports through price,” JPMorgan analysts wrote to clients recently, nudging their propane-price forecasts 3.4% higher for the third quarter and up 2.2% in the fourth.

For a longer version of this article online, follow this link.

Are rural Americans in for a tough winter of high propane prices? Let us know by replying to this email. Your comments may be edited before publication in future newsletters, and please make sure to include your name and location.

The Dow and S&P 500 closed the first half of the year with double-digit percentage gains, despite risks of inflation and stocks being priced to perfection.

Didi Global's stock rose slightly on the first day of trading after its IPO, with investors weighing the prospects of the Beijing-based ride-sharing company as it jumped into a hot market for initial public offerings.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimate that new jobless claims for the week ended June 26 decreased to a seasonally adjusted 390,000 from 411,000 the prior week.

Quarterly sales for Detroit car markers aren’t the warning flag they used to be, but investors might benefit from a more cautious stance anyway, writes Heard on the Street columnist Stephen Wilmot.

Jobless claims for the week ended June 26, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, are expected trend lower from the prior week.

The ISM business manufacturing purchasing managers index is due at 10 a.m.

Robinhood wants you to buy Robinhood stock on Robinhood. The trading app is allocating up to 35% of its IPO shares to individual investors, part of a strategy to bring IPO investing to the masses.

Robinhood will pay $70 million to settle a regulatory probe. The agreement resolved regulatory allegations that the brokerage misled customers, approved ineligible traders for risky strategies and didn’t supervise technology that failed and locked millions out of trading.

Private-equity firms are putting retirees' annuities in higher risks but also more cash. A new report by A.M. Best sheds light on how private-equity-backed insurers differ from traditional ones.

TPG is evaluation a public listing. An IPO or SPAC deal could value the closely held private-equity giant at about $10 billion, people familiar with the matter said.
The internet’s original source code sold as an NFT for $5.4 million. World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee sold a digital artwork called “This Changed Everything” in a Sotheby’s auction.
Deutsche Bank suffered a Hong Kong IPO setback from a staffing gap. The bank will temporarily lose its ability to sponsor initial public offerings in Hong Kong after failing to line up replacements for two departing staffers.
Qatar’s sovereign-wealth fund trimmed its stake in Credit Suisse. The Qatar Investment Authority cut its stake to 4.8% as the Swiss lender is under pressure to revamp following twin scandals from the failures of Archegos and Greensill.

We want to be the first place you go to get ready for the opening bell every day. This newsletter is written and edited by James Willhite (@jimwillhite; james.willhite@wsj.com) in London.