The bottom line

■■ U.S. households added $13.5 trillion in wealth last year, according to the Federal Reserve, the biggest increase in records going back three decades. More than 70 percent of the increase in household wealth went to the top 20 percent of income earners. About a third went to the top 1 percent.

The Wall Street Journal

■■ At least 9 million Americans who lost work during the pandemic didn’t receive any unemployment benefits. Rejections varied by state. California paid more than 70 percent of claims for regular unemployment during the 13 months beginning in March 2020, while Montana only paid benefits to 11 percent of those who applied.

Bloomberg.com

■■ The median earnings for Black men in 2019 amounted to only 56 cents for every dollar earned by white men. In 1970, it was 59 cents.

The New York Times

■■ About threequarters of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. in mid-June went for the sticker price or above, according to research firm J.D. Power. The average was about 36 percent before the pandemic. Last month’s median sticker price, or MSRP, was $42,636.

The Wall Street Journal

■■ Heading into the July 4 holiday, gas prices are hovering at $3.09 a gallon on average nationally, the highest in seven years, according to data from AAA. Last year, only a quarter of U.S. gas stations were selling fuel above $2.25 a gallon.

MarketWatch.com

■■ In May, there were 500,219 applications for new businesses, the second-highest month on record, below only last July. Last year was the best year on record for new business creation since the Census Bureau began tracking it in 2004.

NPR.org