CNN – Business/Consumer

By John Towfighi, CNN New York (CNN) — Stocks hit record highs Thursday after August inflation data mostly matched expectations, reaffirming investors’ hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September. The Dow rose 617 points, or 1.36%, and closed at 46,108, crossing the 46,000-point mark for the first time. It’s a symbolic

By Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into seven tech companies around potential harms their artificial intelligence chatbots could cause to children and teenagers. The inquiry focuses on AI chatbots that can serve as companions, which “effectively mimic human characteristics, emotions, and intentions, and generally are

By Samantha Delouya, CNN (CNN) — After months of sitting out a sluggish housing market, would-be buyers may finally have a reason to jump in: Borrowing rates are tumbling. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.35% for the week ending September 11, down from 6.50% last week, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac.

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — The cost of living continues to increase for Americans at a time when the job market appears to be on shakier footing, creating a complicated economic problem that could be tricky to solve. Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August, driving the annual inflation rate to 2.9%, the highest since

By Matt Egan, CNN New York (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime is already reshaping global trade and spiking government customs revenue. But these historic import taxes could also push more Americans into poverty, according to new research. An analysis published by The Budget Lab at Yale on Tuesday finds Trump’s tariff hikes

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Larry Ellison briefly became the world’s richest person Wednesday before ending the day just $1 billion shy of the lead. The uber-billionaire is still on the verge of becoming the world’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, growing his net worth $88 billion Wednesday, briefly

By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN (CNN) — The Department of Labor is initiating an investigation into how the Bureau of Labor Statistics collects and reports “closely watched economic data,” according to a letter the department’s Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Laura Nicolosi, sent to Acting BLS Commissioner William Wiatrowski on Wednesday. This comes one day after

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Federal Reserve’s powerful board may soon work alongside the same central banker the president tried to fire weeks ago, in what would be a stunning milestone in Trump’s ongoing bid to bend the historically independent Fed to his will. In a Tuesday

By Ana Nicolaci da Costa, CNN London (CNN) — Novo Nordisk, the maker of weight loss drug Wegovy, will lay off about 9,000 people as it grapples with rising competition in the obesity market. The Danish company has been battling it out with US rival Eli Lilly, with each developing newer medicines to turbocharge weight

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — US inflation cooled off at the wholesale level in August, bolstering hopes that high tariffs aren’t yet causing prices to spiral out of control, fresh data showed Wednesday. However, economists caution, the better-than-expected reading could be a sign of a slowing economy and that shrinking businesses’ margins could foretell

By Jordan Valinsky, John Towfighi, CNN New York (CNN) — Elon Musk briefly lost his title of “world’s richest person” title to Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison. Ellison’s wealth jumped by $89 billion to $383.2 billion on Wednesday after Oracle’s stunningly strong earnings report Tuesday evening, according to Bloomberg. Oracle (ORCL) reported surging demand for its

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — Funding for public train and bus services is so dire that one of the largest cities in America must rely on a sports gambling company to help. FanDuel, a sports betting app, subsidized train service to and from the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles home opener last week. The

By Chris Isidore, CNN (CNN) — The Hyundai battery plant in Georgia that saw 475 workers arrested in immigration raid last week is just the latest example of President Donald Trump’s policies clashing with his goals for the world’s largest economy. The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts have had widespread impacts on the construction industry,

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Cracker Barrel announced that it’s suspending the renovations of its restaurants following a disastrous logo rollout that sent shares lower. “You’ve shared your voices in recent weeks not just on our logo, but also on our restaurants,” the chain said on X. “If your restaurant hasn’t been

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — The American jobs market has been running in a much lower gear than previously thought, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday. The US economy added about 911,000 fewer jobs than initially estimated for the year ending in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics report suggests. If this were

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the cofounders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, are fighting with the company’s parents about the independence of the brand they created nearly 50 years ago. The pair, which no longer controls the company they created, wrote an open letter Tuesday addressed

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Girl Scouts of the USA is debuting a new cookie for its upcoming season. The organization announced Tuesday that “Exploremores,” a Rocky Road-inspired cookie, is being added to the lineup when its annual sales begin in January. Like the Girl Scouts’ other cookies, which include the popular

By Matt Egan, CNN New York (CNN) — President Donald Trump has promised his high tariffs will inspire an American manufacturing renaissance. Yet so far his controversial experiment has failed to inspire a jobs boom. Not only is hiring weak, but the industries most exposed to tariffs have been shedding workers – exactly the opposite

By Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — Apple announced the first major redesign of the iPhone in years on Tuesday when it confirmed the launch of a new, thinner model called the iPhone Air. CEO Tim Cook called it the “biggest leap ever for iPhone.” That was one of a number of product upgrades

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — Large downward revisions to monthly jobs data in recent weeks put a gigantic spotlight on an incredibly typical procedure for economic data. They also spurred something highly atypical, with President Donald Trump firing the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner over baseless allegations that the data was “rigged.” Now, there’s

By Brian Stelter, Hadas Gold, CNN (CNN) — Rupert Murdoch’s chosen son Lachlan will remain in charge of the family business, forestalling a predicted challenge from his siblings over the political bent of the conservative media empire. Instead, three siblings are exiting the business altogether — in an ending worthy of a dramatic series finale.

By Samantha Delouya, CNN (CNN) — Buying a home has become increasingly pricey in the past few years. Now, Zillow has put a staggering number to those higher costs: America’s housing market has climbed 57% since 2020, to a record $55 trillion. That means that in just five years, the US housing market’s value has

By Chris Isidore, CNN (CNN) — US Steel is shuttering production at a mill in November, but its hundreds of workers will keep their jobs – for now – thanks to an agreement the company reached with the Trump administration. US Steel will stop producing steel at its Granite City, Illinois, mill at the end

By Matt Egan, CNN New York (CNN) — While many CEOs have stayed silent during President Donald Trump’s attacks on the Federal Reserve, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin is speaking out about the dangers. Trump risks “stoking both higher inflation and higher long-term rates” by undermining the independence of the Fed, Griffin co-wrote in an

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN (CNN) — August, which is heralded as Black Business Month, should have been a time to celebrate the Black labor force. But last month’s jobs report showed unemployment rates increased for Black workers — and it could point to an economic slump. The unemployment rate for Black workers reached 7.5% in

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — If you’re sharing the Amazon Prime membership of a family member or friend outside your household, prepare to pay up. Beginning October 1, the company is eliminating “Prime Invitee,” a program that let Prime members outside of their household share their free shipping benefit. Moving forward, customers

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Howard Stern pranked his fans and the media Monday about leaving his longtime SiriusXM radio show. Bravo host Andy Cohen appeared at the top of Stern’s 7 a.m. time slot, announcing that he was taking over the channel and rebranding it as “Andy 100.” Multiple media outlets,

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — Coming out of the pandemic, many retail chains, political leaders, law enforcement officials and others told America there was an unprecedented level of shoplifting. Shoplifting became a political lighting rod, and videos of thieves smashing store windows and grabbing merchandise rocketed across the news and social media

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — McDonald’s latest attempt to bring back cost-conscious customers rolls out Monday with a slate of new deals. The fast food chain is reintroducing “Extra Value Meals,” a discount menu category McDonald’s eliminated in 2019. It’s returning this week with eight new meal deals that include several of