Google soars (and crashes), Uber at odds with NYC mayor

Shares of Google (GOOGL) are surging today after blockbuster results hitting an all-time high following its quarterly report. Google saw solid gains in mobile and its You Tube video service. But Yahoo Finance's Aaron Task says the positive reaction on Wall Street has a lot to do with new CFO Ruth Porat. "They have 'adult supervision' on the spending," he says. "I think that's a big reason why you are seeing the reaction."

But on the same day the blockbuster earnings report came out, the company said one of its self-driving cars was involved in an accident with injuries for the first time. But the Yahoo Finance panel doesn't think that will derail the company's push for driverless cars. Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer says, "this accident actually proves the point that they are safe. After six years, you have one accident where a couple of people get whiplash."

Uber takes on NYC Mayor de Blasio

In other driving news, Uber, the new economy ride service, is making waves on both coasts. First, in Los Angeles, where Uber along with its rival Lyft will now be able to make pick ups and drop offs at Los Angeles International Airport. That's the biggest U.S. airport to allow full access."They're big.  It's a tidal wave and there is no stopping Uber," Serwer jokes.  But he says, "This whole thing needs to be regulated."

Meanwhile in New York City, Uber is in a battle with the local government. The city council is proposing a cap on the number of new Uber vehicles as it studies traffic congestion. Uber is going head-to-head with the mayor, directly in the app and with a new TV ad.

Where's the spending?

The good times are here for the U.S. consumer. Defaults on both first mortgages and auto loans are down. Foreclosure activity was at a 10-year low in the first half of this year. Only 20 percent of available credit card limits were being used in the second quarter. All good signs, right? But this week’s retail sales numbers show Americans aren’t spending yet. Task points out, "The retail sales report misses big parts of the economy."  He says economists call it an inaccurate gauge and that the retail sales report is an outlier based on other data. U.S. consumers, he says, are primed to give the economy a major boost, should they choose to go on a spending spree.

And speaking of a spending spree...

Millennial-bashing has become a popular past time and a 22-year-old college junior from Georgia isn’t helping their case. As Yahoo Finance's Mandi Woodruff reports, a young woman named Kim called into an Atlanta radio show—“The Bert Show” and explained how in just short three years she blew through a $90,000 college fund left to her by her grandparents. Kim has one year left of school and no way to cover her remaining $20,000 tuition balance. Instead of being apologetic, she’s blaming her parents. The panel in the video above debates how much of this is her fault. Serwer, a parent himself who sent his daughter the story about Kim quips, "It's not her parents' fault that they didn't teach her common sense." But it does point to the broader problem of paying for college. There is $1 trillion in student loan debt in this country. In any event, word is Kim has gotten a job.

Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App