CNN-Business-Consumer

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business Add Nike to the list of brands and stores discounting excess merchandise to clear it off shelves. Nike said Thursday its inventory levels soared 65% in North America, its largest market, and 44% overall last quarter from a year ago. After navigating limited supply in 2021 Nike is now carrying

By Parija Kavilanz, CNN Business Spanx, a brand founded by shapewear pioneer Sara Blakely, has named Kim Jones her successor as CEO. The Atlanta-based company promoted Jones, a longtime Spanx executive, on Friday. Blakely will continue to serve as the chair of Spanx’s board. Jones joined Spanx in 2005 and previously held roles as the

By Anna Cooban, CNN Business EU governments agreed Friday to tax the windfall profits of oil and gas companies and to cap the revenues of some electricity generators as the cost of Europe’s energy crisis spirals higher. But energy ministers from the 27 EU member states failed to reach an agreement on a proposal by

Martha C. White for CNN Business After hitting an alarming 40-year high in June, the Federal Reserve’s preferred benchmark for consumer inflation is once again flashing a warning sign about the persistence of high prices. The Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index for August rose by 6.2% from a

By Nicole Goodkind, CNN Business Warnings of global recession are widespread, inflation is persistent and Russia is escalating the crisis in Europe. The macro picture for the economy is bleak, and markets are suffering. But in the midst of all of this turmoil, luxury automaker Porsche managed to make one of the biggest market debuts

By Chris Isidore, CNN Business Florida homeowners were already facing an expensive and difficult market for home insurance before Hurricane Ian. The devastating storm is about to make things worse — even for those fortunate enough to escape any damage. For the better part of two decades, the nation’s major insurers have wanted as little

By Amarachi Orie, CNN Business The portrait of King Charles III that will feature on British coins has been unveiled by the Royal Mint, the official maker of UK coins. The image, which will first appear on commemorative £5 and 50 pence coins to honor the life of the late Queen Elizabeth II, was designed

By Laura He, CNN Business Asian markets are careening toward their worst month since the Covid pandemic began, hit by a mighty US dollar and rising global recession fears. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index — which captures 10 major markets across Asia, excluding Japan — has fallen 12.8% so far this month, on track to

By Allison Morrow, CNN Business All week, there have events in the news that have come in under of the banner of “this hasn’t happened since 2007/2008.” Yields on the 10-year Treasury briefly surpassed 4%, a level not seen since 2008. That movement helped push mortgage rates to their highest level, 6.7%, since — wait

By Jackie Wattles, CNN Officials at NASA have signed a Space Act Agreement with SpaceX to investigate the benefits and risks of having a private mission provide service to NASA’s nearly 33-year-old Hubble Space Telescope, boosting it to a higher orbit to extend its life, the space agency announced Thursday. “Hubble is amazingly successful. …

By Matt Egan, CNN Business US officials are increasingly troubled by the United Kingdom’s proposal to slash taxes at a time of crushing inflation, a plan that has ignited turbulence in financial markets. UK Prime Minister Liz Truss’s tax-cut plan has drawn criticism from economists and investors and prompted the Bank of England to calm

By Anna Bahney, CNN Business Think mortgage rates are high now? Connie Strait remembers when she was starting her career in real estate in the early 1980s and buyers were contending with rates three times higher. Strait recalled one couple who were actually relieved when they locked in a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 19% in

By Reuters and Anna Cooban, CNN Business The German government announced plans to borrow €200 billion ($195 billion) to cap natural gas prices for households and businesses. That’s a bigger price tag than the £150 billion ($165 billion) the UK government is expected to borrow to finance its own price cap. Germany, Europe’s biggest economy,

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business The third quarter is about to end — and investors are wishing the past nine months good riddance. Stocks fell Thursday, giving up much of Wednesday’s big gains. The Dow fell nearly 460 points, or 1.5%. The Dow is now back in a bear market, more than 20%

By Anna Bahney, CNN Business Mortgage rates surged for the sixth week in a row, moving closer to 7%. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.70% in the week ending September 29, up from 6.29% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. That’s the highest level since July 2007. Mortgage rates have more than doubled since

By Chris Isidore, CNN Business High prices and rising interest rates are putting used cars out of reach for a growing number of car shoppers. That’s bad news for CarMax, the nation’s largest used car dealer. CarMax reported Thursday that its earnings plunged 54% as the number of cars it sold in the quarter fell

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business You may not be anywhere close to ready for the holidays — but retail chains certainly are. Christmas trees are already on sales floors at Costco and Lowe’s, Walmart’s year-end holiday sales start October 1 and Target is offering its “earliest access ever” to holiday deals beginning October 6. Amazon

By Alicia Wallace, CNN Business The number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped considerably last week, underscoring how employers are holding on tightly to workers as the labor market remains full of opportunities for job hunters. Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 193,000 for the week ended September 24, down 16,000 from a downwardly

By Alicia Wallace, CNN Business The US economy shrank by 0.6% during the second quarter of the year, according to the latest gross domestic product estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis released Thursday. That matches the most recent GDP estimate and shows the economy was in contraction for the entire first half of the

By Nicole Goodkind, CNN Business The global bond market is having a historically awful year. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond, a proxy for borrowing costs, briefly moved above 4% on Wednesday for the first time in 12 years. That’s a bad omen for Wall Street and Main Street. What’s happening: This hasn’t

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business We have all heard of Band-Aid, Tylenol, Benadryl and Johnson’s baby powder. We have never heard of the new made-up word Kenvue. But Kenvue will be the new corporate parent of these familiar consumer health brands next year. Johnson & Johnson, the owner of these labels, is in the process

By Michelle Toh, CNN Business Hong Kong has finally secured commitments from some of the world’s biggest banks to participate in a long-awaited summit, as it seeks to reaffirm its status as a global financial hub. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced Thursday that it would welcome executives including Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon,

By Laura He, CNN Business China’s yuan hovered near record lows against the US dollar on the offshore market on Thursday, as major currencies around the world continue to tumble after the Federal Reserve’s aggressive hikes. The yuan — also known as the renminbi —has been declining for months despite interventions by China’s central bank.