CNN – Business/Consumer

By Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN New York (CNN) — Inflation is heating up, a trade war is brewing and American consumers aren’t feeling great about the economy. That’s a toxic mix for businesses. Inflation rose last month to its highest level since June, topping 3%. Prices at the grocery store remain elevated, with eggs rising 15.2%

By Samantha Delouya, CNN (CNN) — Americans looking to purchase a home in certain US cities might be pleasantly surprised to find the tide is shifting their way this spring after years of challenging affordability. There were 3.7 months of for-sale supply on the market in January, the most in six years, according to a

By John Liu and Hassan Tayir, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Two decades ago, a modest restaurant in the middle of one’s China poorest provinces saw its business take off after selling cut-price soft serve for just 1 yuan (15 cents) per cone. Today, it has overtaken McDonald’s and Starbucks as the world’s largest food

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN (CNN) — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday he expects the United States to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, but that the situation is “fluid” and President Donald Trump will determine the levels. “There are going to be tariffs on Tuesday on Mexico and Canada,” Lutnick told Fox

By Maria Sole Campinoti, CNN (CNN) — American consumers don’t need to fret about President Donald Trump’s tariffs on aluminum raising the price of their can of soda. Two weeks ago, Trump announced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States that would go into effect March 12, worrying some

By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Saturday signed another executive action that directs his administration to investigate potential instances of what he deems unfair trade practices for lumber the United States imports. This comes just days after Trump signed a similar action ordering an investigation into copper. Trump also ordered a

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Trump administration is cracking down on immigration — legal and otherwise — setting the stage for potential labor shortages, weaker economic growth and higher inflation. President Donald Trump announced a flurry of immigration policies immediately after taking office in late January, many of them aimed at curbing

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN (CNN) — Demonstrators gathered at more than 50 Tesla showrooms across the United States on Saturday in protest of CEO Elon Musk’s role in slashing government agencies as part of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency established by President Donald Trump. The protests are part of “Tesla Takedown,” which, according to

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN (CNN) — Tens of thousands of Microsoft Outlook users reported issues with the e-mail service on Saturday afternoon. Microsoft 365, which manages services such as Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint, posted an update to X at 5:01 p.m. ET that it had “identified a potential cause of impact and have reverted the

By Chris Isidore, CNN New York (CNN) — Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports are looming again. And that could quickly send car prices soaring, even for those assembled in the United States. That’s because the auto industry has spent decades operating as if all of North America is a single market, moving cars parts

By Anna Cooban, CNN London (CNN) — A tentative thaw in ice-cold US-Russia relations is paving the way for American companies to do what, until recently, seemed unthinkable — return to the country three years after they left in droves. Following watershed talks with Russian officials last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio extolled

By John Towfighi, CNN New York (CNN) — US stocks seesawed Friday, but all three major indexes closed the month in the red — a sign of increasing unease in markets. Volatility gripped markets as traders closed out a dismal February that wiped out some gains. “Extreme fear” was the sentiment driving markets on Friday

By Donald Judd and Liam Reilly, CNN (CNN) — A member of Russia’s state-owned news agency gained access to the Oval Office on Friday to cover President Trump’s sit-down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – even as the AP and Reuters were barred from the high-level meeting. The White House said the journalist was not

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Microsoft is shutting down Skype, the internet-based phone and video service that was once the dominant way of staying connected in the mid 2000s. Skype will “no longer be available” to use starting in May, the company confirmed on X, telling users that their log-in information can

By Carlotta Dotto, CNN A European human rights body has ruled that Facebook’s algorithm shows gender bias when promoting job advertisements, marking what activists say is a crucial step in holding big tech companies accountable for the design of their platforms. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights said in a February 18 decision that Facebook’s

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge cooled as expected in January; however, the good news came with another potential red flag for the US economic engine: Consumers pulled back their spending by the most in nearly four years. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index rose 2.5% in January from

By Chris Isidore, CNN New York (CNN) — Nippon Steel is looking to revive its plan to purchase iconic American steelmaker US Steel, despite President Donald Trump’s statements earlier this month that it is only interested in an “investment” and his pledge not to allow it to buy a controlling stake. Trump declared after a

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — In early February, John Schwarz, a self-described “mindfulness and meditation facilitator,” proposed a 24-hour nationwide “economic blackout” of major chains on the last day of the month. Schwarz urged people to forgo spending at Amazon, Walmart, and all other major retailers and fast-food companies for a day.

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — Earlier this week, the controversial former boss of Goya Foods self-published a mysterious press release about his departure from the company. Robert “Bob” Unanue said that after nearly five decades at the family business, he was suddenly informed that his “employment” at the company was over and

By Lisa Eadicicco, CNN New York (CNN) — Amazon debuted a more sophisticated version of Alexa on Wednesday that’s more conversational and can handle tasks on your behalf. But in a surprising departure from its usual playbook, the company didn’t announce new Echo devices to go with its revamped digital helper. But that might not