CNN – Business/Consumer

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Lower-income and middle-class households saw their net worth increase at a faster rate than their higher-income peers early in the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a Pew Research Center report released Monday. The median wealth of lower-income households shot up 101% between December 2019 and December 2021, while the middle

By Allison Morrow, CNN New York (CNN) — The price of bitcoin soared above $40,000 on Monday, hitting its highest level in 18 months as investors look ahead to a lower interest rate environment and key regulatory approvals that could make the crypto asset more mainstream. Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, was up more

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Beyoncé was crowned “queen of the box office” after her concert movie topped the box office in its opening weekend. “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” a documentary about the artist’s record-breaking world tour, raked in $21 million since its Friday opening, according to BoxOfficeMojo. It opened in

By Donie O’Sullivan and Clare Duffy, CNN (CNN) — A nationally recognized online disinformation researcher has accused Harvard University of shutting down the project she led to protect its relationship with mega-donor and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The allegations, made by Dr. Joan Donovan, raise questions about the influence the tech giant might have over seemingly independent research. Facebook’s parent

By Ramishah Maruf and Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — Boxy, colorful and emblazoned with the brand’s signature “TC” logo, Telfar’s “Shopping Bag” handbags have for years been prized accessories among the fashion conscious. The bags — modeled after the shape of a Bloomingdale’s shopping bag — have been worn by everyone from Beyoncé and

By Samantha Delouya and Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court spent nearly two hours Monday morning grappling with whether federal bankruptcy code permits a controversial agreement that would give billions of dollars to victims of the opioid epidemic while protecting members of the Sackler family, who owned the company Purdue Pharma, from current

By Hanna Ziady, CNN London (CNN) — Spotify will lay off around 1,500 employees to reduce costs in a third round of job cuts this year, CEO Daniel Ek said Monday as he announced a “significant” strategy shift for the music-streaming company. “Economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive. Spotify is

By Michelle Toh, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — The US government has announced new regulations that aim to keep Chinese batteries out of cars sold in the United States, a move that could push up the price of electric vehicles for American drivers. The Biden administration on Friday proposed rules that would cut subsidies for

CNN, KOMO, KHON, ALASKA AIRLINES By Eva Rothenberg and Chris Isidore, CNN New York (CNN) — Alaska Air (ALK) on Sunday announced it will buy rival Hawaiian Airlines (HA) for $1.9 billion. The acquisition was the culmination of “several months” of negotiations, according to Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci. It will include $900 million in

By Anna Bahney, CNN Washington, DC (CNN) — Here’s how paying for a real estate agent to sell your home has long been done: A seller hands a percentage of the sale price to their broker, who then splits it with the broker who brought the buyer. The commission is typically between 5% and 6%,

By Sergio Padilla, CNN New York (CNN) — Americans seemed more willing to spend money on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but less willing to donate money on Giving Tuesday. While the raw number of dollars donated, $3.1 billion, represents a 0.6% gain from 2022, the number of Americans who participated, roughly 34 million, indicates

By Eva Rothenberg and Chris Isidore, CNN New York (CNN) — Alaska Air (ALK) on Sunday announced it will buy rival Hawaiian Airlines (HA) for $1.9 billion. The acquisition was the culmination of “several months” of negotiations, according to Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci. It will include $900 million in Hawaiian Airlines debt. “This is

By Krystal Hur, CNN New York (CNN) — Clean energy stocks are out of vogue, as higher interest rates and lagging efforts to combat climate change dog the sector. Those obstacles might not go away anytime soon. The iShares Global Clean Energy exchange-traded fund, which tracks the performance of sectors from renewable electricity to semiconductors

By Eva Rothenberg, CNN (CNN) — Movie theaters slumped into a “Slow-vember,” say industry analysts, as several of the season’s most anticipated movies drew underwhelming box office sales last month. Domestic theaters grossed about $553.6 million this November, a 12% decline from last year and still more than $400 million short of pre-pandemic levels, according

By Parija Kavilanz, CNN New York (CNN) — With Thanksgiving out of the way, the hunt for a Christmas tree is on for plenty of families wanting to snag the perfect Fraser fir or pine for their homes this year. But spending on a real Christmas tree is yet another expense for households to add

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN New York (CNN) — If you are in a 401(k) plan at work, you very likely have the option to invest in a so-called target date fund, which also may be called a retirement date fund or a lifecycle fund. At the end of 2020, the vast majority of plans (86%)

By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN New York (CNN) — Egg and turkey prices are down. But a deadly bird flu is still threatening poultry flocks, turkey in particular. So while breakfast is likely to stay cheap, get ready for more expensive turkey sandwiches. Last year, a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) devastated chicken flocks, with egg-laying

By Jackie Wattles, CNN (CNN) — Amazon just inked a deal with chief competitor and Elon Musk-helmed SpaceX to launch internet-beaming satellites — a move that comes even as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pursues his own space dreams with his own rocket company, Blue Origin, and as SpaceX builds its own internet constellation. While Musk

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN New York (CNN) — Back In 2019, Tesla designer Franz von Holzhausen tried to show off the Cybertruck’s shatterproof windows by throwing a metal ball at each of the truck’s left side windows. The unbreakable windows… broke. “Oh my f**king God,” said Musk at that memorably awkward moment. “Well, maybe that

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, Parija Kavilanz and Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN New York (CNN) — Walmart confirmed on Friday that it is not advertising on X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter. “We are not actively advertising on X. This is not about a specific change to our advertising