CNN – Business/Consumer

By Alicia Wallace and Matt Egan, CNN (CNN) — Last year, consumers shelled out big bucks for their back-to-school shopping needs, spending a record $41.5 billion, according to estimates from the National Retail Federation. That whopping tally, which amounted to more than $890 per household, bested 2021’s all-time high by roughly 12%. While higher prices

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — It’s never been harder to be Mister Softee. Once, there were more than 2,000 Mister Softee trucks in 38 states during the company’s peak in the 1960s. Now, there are only around 630 Mister Softee trucks looping around neighborhoods and parks in 21 states. Competition and rising

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — In the waning weeks of summer, the hottest spot for celebrities to be seen in New York isn’t the beaches of Montauk or the polo fields in Bridgehampton. Rather, it’s slightly uncomfortable, blue plastic chairs in Queens — but surrounded by luxury. Monday kicks off the US

By Hadas Gold, CNN New York (CNN) — A new presidential candidate, a slew of celebrities and slick programming helped propel Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris to a ratings win at this week’s Democratic National Convention, surpassing the television viewership of last month’s Republican gathering. Viewership of the four-day festivities in Chicago drew an

By Liam Reilly, CNN New York (CNN) — As opening statements in the murder trial of Robert Telles began last week, the Las Vegas Review-Journal was confronted with a nightmarish question: How does a newspaper cover the trial of a suspect accused of murdering one of its own reporters? The once-unimaginable prospect is one the

CNN By Krystal Hur, CNN New York (CNN) — Stocks rose Friday as Wall Street cheered a signal from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that long-awaited interest rate cuts are finally coming. The Dow closed 462 points, or 1.1% higher, on Friday afternoon. The S&P 500 gained 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.5%. All

By Holmes Lybrand and Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit against the real estate company RealPage, alleging the company’s software uses landlord data to artificially inflate the price of rent across the United States by quelling competition in the market. According to the complaint, the Texas-based company uses

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — After a grueling two years of high inflation and elevated interest rates, Americans are finally set for some relief: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday offered his strongest affirmation yet that a rate cut is coming next month. But the size of that relief remains an open

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — America’s top central banker has unambiguously signaled that lower interest rates are finally on the horizon, marking a crucial milestone for the Federal Reserve’s historic — and, so far, successful — inflation fight. “The time has come for policy to adjust,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in prepared

By Krystal Hur, CNN New York (CNN) — Stocks rose Friday as Wall Street cheered a signal from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that long-awaited interest rate cuts are finally coming. The Dow closed 462 points, or 1.1% higher, on Friday afternoon. The S&P 500 gained 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.5%. All three

By Matt Egan, CNN (CNN) — Halliburton confirmed on Friday that it was hit by a cyberattack that forced the major oilfield services company to take systems offline. In a filing, Halliburton said it became aware on Wednesday that an “unauthorized third party gained access to certain of its systems.” Halliburton said it immediately “activated its

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — It’s not $5, but Subway is bringing back cheap footlongs and joining the fast food value menu wars. Beginning August 26, Subway will sell any footlong sandwich for $6.99 — a steep discount considering that some footlongs can cost as much as $14 in some cities. It’s

By Devan Cole and Marshall Cohen, CNN Wilmington, Delaware (CNN) — Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy knew the right-wing cable outlet had no evidence to back up its claims that Smartmatic was involved in rigging the 2020 election even as it continued to push the lies on its air, an attorney for the voting technology company alleged on Thursday.

By Erika Tulfo, CNN (CNN) — Shares of beleaguered exercise equipment company Peloton rallied sharply on Thursday after it reported its first rise in sales since 2021. The home fitness company brought in $644 million in sales, up 0.2% from the year before, and its shares surged more than 35%. That might not sound like

By Chris Isidore, Ramishah Maruf and Paula Newton, CNN New York (CNN) — The Canadian government stepped in to end a shutdown of the nation’s two major freight railroads less than 17 hours after it started, ordering binding arbitration to end the labor dispute that threatened severe disruptions in both the US and Canadian economies.

CNN By Chris Isidore, CNN New York (CNN) — Canada’s two major freight railroads have shut their operations, according to management of the two companies, locking out 9,000 members of the Teamsters union who operate the trains and dealing a potential blow to both the Canadian and US economies. Nearly a third of the freight

CNN By Marshall Cohen, CNN Washington (CNN) — Taylor Swift didn’t endorse former President Donald Trump last weekend. Ryan Reynolds wasn’t photographed wearing a pro-Kamala Harris shirt. And the Communist Party USA never backed President Joe Biden’s now-defunct campaign. But these false claims about the 2024 campaign, and dozens of other posts with similar fake

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Walmart is hoping Burger King will give its subscription program a whopper of an advantage over Amazon. The retailer is partnering with the fast-food chain to give members of its $98-a-year subscription program, Walmart+, a 25% discount on Burger King orders every day and free Whoppers every

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN New York (CNN) — Love or hate politics, they may be hard to ignore this fall given how strongly many people feel on both sides of the aisle about the presidential race and key ballot issues, not to mention world events. And going to work may not offer a respite. Gallup

By Olesya Dmitracova, CNN London (CNN) — McDonald’s has unveiled plans to open more than 200 new restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which it expects will create over 24,000 jobs. As part of the rollout, the fast-food giant will test new restaurant formats, such as “drive to” and smaller stores, as well as