CNN – Business/Consumer

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington, DC (CNN) — US retail sales picked in August, boosted by higher gas prices, as spending on other items grew modestly. Retail sales, which are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation, rose 0.6% in August, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That’s a slightly faster pace than July’s revised 0.5%

By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN New York (CNN) — Wholesale inflation accelerated for the second month in a row, mirroring a similar trend in the Consumer Price Index report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The Producer Price Index, a key measure of price changes at the wholesale level, rose to 1.6% from 1.3% for

CNN By Chris Isidore and Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Detroit (CNN) — Time has run out to avert a strike at America’s unionized automakers. The United Auto Workers contracts expired at 11:59 pm ET on Thursday. The contracts covered 145,000 UAW members at the three companies: General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which builds vehicles under the

By Chris Isidore and Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Detroit (CNN) — America’s auto industry is facing a historic challenge. The United Auto Workers contracts expired at 11:59 pm ET on Thursday. The contracts covered 145,000 UAW members at the three companies: General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which builds vehicles under the Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler

By Olesya Dmitracova, CNN London (CNN) — The European Central Bank raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4% Thursday and hinted it was done with its protracted campaign of rate hikes to tame stubborn inflation. The central bank has now raised its main interest rate at 10 consecutive meetings, taking

By Chris Isidore and Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Detroit (CNN) — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain on Thursday night said the union will strike all the Big Three automakers – GM, Ford and Stellantis – at the same time as of midnight if the companies do not reach tentative labor deals with the auto workers.

By Akanksha Sharma and Michelle Toh, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has hit back after Elon Musk called the self-ruled island an “integral part of China.” Speaking remotely at the All-in Summit, which took place in Los Angeles this week, Musk compared Taiwan’s relationship with China to that of Hawaii’s

By Michelle Toh, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Extreme heat and flooding are set to deal a massive blow to the global fashion industry, with four of the world’s top garment producing countries at risk of missing out on $65 billion in earnings by 2030, according to a study from Cornell University and investment manager

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — American Eagle filed a lawsuit against shopping mall owner Westfield, accusing the company of allowing its San Francisco Centre mall to “deteriorate into disarray.” American Eagle, which has a shop in the mall, said that Westfield breached its lease agreement and its neglect of common areas in

By Chris Isidore and Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Detroit (CNN) — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced a targeted strike plan Wednesday if the union decides to walk out at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis after a contract expiration late Thursday. Details of the plan, including which plants will be struck, will not be announced

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — Starbucks announced Wednesday that Howard Schultz is stepping down from its board of directors – but the former chairman’s name will be sticking around. Though Schultz is retiring, Starbucks is giving him the title of “lifelong Chairman Emeritus.” Schultz is stepping down as part of a planned

By Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — Google confirmed it will lay off hundreds of staff members who helped recruit and hire employees, as Silicon Valley continues its cost-cutting efforts. The latest cuts come after Google parent Alphabet in January eliminated 12,000 jobs, or about 6% of its workforce, across the company as it

By Parija Kavilanz, CNN New York (CNN) — The ‘Barbie’ movie, which turned into a global box office phenomenon in a matter of weeks, appears to be energizing sales of Barbie toys after its summer release. Barbie toy sales in the US increased 25% for the July-August combined months compared to the same two-month period

By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN New York (CNN) — As overall US inflation heated up last month, consumers got some relief at grocery stores. Grocery price increases in the United States slowed down in August, up just 0.2% for the month. That’s an improvement from July, when grocery prices were up 0.3%, according to the latest

By Allison Morrow, CNN New York (CNN) — A bankruptcy judge granted FTX, the collapsed crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, permission to liquidate its digital assets to repay creditors. FTX has previously said in bankruptcy court filings that its digital assets, such as Solana, Bitcoin and Ether (its three biggest holdings,) amount to about

By Oliver Darcy and Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Kristen Welker will face a big first test as moderator of “Meet the Press” on her debut episode this Sunday. Welker is set to begin her time in the anchor chair with a sit-down interview with former President Donald Trump, CNN first reported and was later

By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN New York (CNN) — Across the United States, the cost of car insurance is up 19% compared to a year ago, according to August’s Consumer Price Index report released on Wednesday. That’s the biggest annual increase since 1976. But in Florida, where extreme weather episodes are increasingly more prevalent and destructive,

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — Marvel Studio’s VFX workers unanimously voted to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, marking the first time visual effects workers have unionized with IATSE, the union announced Wednesday. The National Labor Relations Board oversaw the election, and the count was held Tuesday after the

By Matt Egan, CNN Business New York (CNN Business) — As Detroit automakers and labor leaders scramble to hammer out a contract that will shape the future of the US auto industry, former Ford CEO Mark Fields has words of caution for both sides. Fields, who led Ford between 2014 and 2017, is warning the

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — Everyone you know traveled to Europe this summer, despite a jump in airfare. But don’t worry if you missed out — falling ticket prices could make fall the better time to fly. Prices for airfare early this autumn are much lower than fares over the summer, according