CNN – Business/Consumer

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN Business Maybe you don’t think minivans are cool. It wouldn’t be all that surprising. They have been seen as so uncool in the past that they nearly became extinct. But now, minivans are making a comeback — and they are actually becoming quite popular. In fact, there’s been so much demand

By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business Want to buy a new coat without shelling out the entire cost upfront? For shoppers, that’s becoming an increasingly popular payment option — generating a windfall for the handful of companies that facilitate such services. What’s happening: Square, which owns the Cash App, announced Sunday that it’s buying Afterpay for

By Michelle Toh and Sophie Jeong, CNN Business YouTube has temporarily barred Sky News Australia from uploading new content over misinformation related to the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Google-owned platform, the broadcaster was issued a “strike” last Thursday, which prevents it from posting videos or live-streams for a week. Three strikes over a period

By Hanna Ziady, CNN Business Housing markets are hotter than ever, and big money is getting in on the act. Pension funds, investment firms and Wall Street banks are snapping up family homes in Europe and the United States at a rapid pace as prices rocket higher, looking for alternatives to lockdown-hit office parks and

By Michelle Toh, CNN Business HSBC’s profits soared in the first half of the year as its business staged a strong recovery from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. The British bank also confirmed Monday that it would bring back its interim dividend after it was forced to scrap it last year at the request

By Brian Stelter, CNN Business A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can sign up for free right here. Let’s start with the good news: Vaccination rates in the US are ticking back up. Sunday marked the fifth straight day of the CDC recording more than 700,000 shots in

By Anagha Subhash Nair, CNN When Jill Trail first met Pihu, a frail 6-week old puppy, in India she knew she needed her care. Living on the streets, Pihu had suffered spinal injuries and infections so bad that both hind legs had to be amputated. There was one problem: Trail lived in the United States.

By Frank Pallotta, CNN Business After Disney hit some rough waters this week, the studio’s latest feature film, “Jungle Cruise,” docked with some good results at the box office this weekend. The film, which stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt, opened to an estimated $61.8 million at the worldwide box office. That includes

By Alexis Benveniste, CNN Business As the Delta variant continues to spread, particularly among the unvaccinated, local reporters in Covid-19 hot spots are struggling to get through to vaccine resisters. There’s been a lot of discussion on how media outlets should cover the rise in Covid-19 infections spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant. And

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business Wages are going up. That’s great news for workers. But some smaller companies may struggle to absorb higher labor costs. The Russell 2000, an index of small cap American firms, has fallen about 2.5% in the past month while the Dow and S&P 500, home to giants such

By Amy Sood Vismaya Nair had been married for just over one year when she was found dead in the bathroom of her husband’s family’s home in India’s southwestern Kerala state. Initially, police had no reason to view the 24-year-old student’s death on June 21 as suspicious, until her family made a complaint under the

By: Moira Ritter, CNN Business The once-tiny cottage industry of van conversion companies has found itself in the center of a distinctively pandemic-era dilemma: ravenous demand and monthslong backorders on virtually all supplies. The #vanlife movement was already in full swing before the pandemic, fueled by envy-inducing posts on Instagram and DIY van conversion videos

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business Tacos, coffee, cars, jet fuel. computer chips, Nike shoes and school supplies: What do they all have in common? They’re all (nearly) impossible to find — or getting there. Shortages are popping up across the supply chain as the pandemic messes with shipping, demand, supply and all the other levers

By Brian Lowry and Frank Pallotta, CNN Like other changes to entertainment distribution through the years, the studio shift toward streaming — hastened by the unforeseen consequences of the pandemic — has Hollywood talent and their representatives demanding a different way to be paid. Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney over the simultaneous streaming release of

By Oliver Darcy, CNN Business A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. You can sign up for free right here. The White House is frustrated with what it views as alarmist, and in some instances flat-out misleading, news coverage about the Delta variant. That’s according to two senior Biden administration

By Parija Kavilanz, CNN Business Get ready to wait months, maybe even into 2022, for that new sofa to arrive at your doorstep. Delays on furniture deliveries have already been frustrating during the pandemic, and they’re about to get much worse. The newest problem for furniture sellers is the increase in spread of Covid-19 and

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business The Securities and Exchange Commission has told its staff to ask for more disclosures from Chinese companies seeking to go public in the United States before it will approve any plans for them to sell shares. The announcement Friday, first reported by Reuters, shows regulators are taking a