CNN – Business/Consumer

By Brian Stelter, CNN Business CNN is hiring hundreds of people and developing dozens of programs for a subscription streaming service that will launch early next year. The new venture, called CNN+, was formally announced on Monday morning. It will exist side by side with CNN’s existing television networks and will feature eight to twelve

By Matt Egan, CNN Business Robinhood could soon be worth $35 billion. The booming yet controversial trading app said Monday it plans to raise up to $2.3 billion in an initial public offering. Robinhood, which plans to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “HOOD,” anticipates selling shares for between $38 and $42 apiece.

By Hanna Ziady and Mark Thompson, CNN Business Despite surging cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19 around the world, investors have largely been brushing off the risks, confident that vaccines will allow economic activity to return to normal. But that risk assessment may be changing. What’s happening: Futures on the S&P 500, Dow and

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business A security company that uses artificial intelligence and advanced sensors technology to screen for threats at theme parks, sports stadiums and other large venues, is going public. Evolv Technology, which announced plans in March to merge with blank check special purpose acquisition company NewHold Investment Corp., completed its

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business Investors are getting spooked by the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases as the Delta variant spreads across the globe. The Dow fell about 725 points Monday, a drop of 2.1%. The S&P 500 ended the day down 1.6% and the Nasdaq was 1.1% lower. This was the worst

By Chie Kobayashi, Gawon Bae, Chandler Thornton and Michelle Toh, CNN Business Toyota will have a subdued role at the Olympics in Japan this year, despite being one of the event’s biggest sponsors. According to a company spokesman, the automaker will not be releasing any commercials related to the Tokyo Games in Japan, choosing instead

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. Scores of journalists from seventeen news outlets worked together to expose evidence of industrial-scale spying that targeted journalists, activists, politicians, and business executives. And the revelations are only just beginning.

By Kay Jones, Chuck Johnston and Tina Burnside, CNN Business A federal court has temporarily blocked a lower court’s ruling and will allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue to implement safety protocols on the cruise industry. The ruling, issued late Saturday, stays a June ruling by US District Judge Steven Merryday

By Alexis Benveniste, CNN Business As Covid-19 vaccine-related misinformation continues to spread on Facebook, one of the platform’s former executives is calling for the company to focus on transparency. President Joe Biden recently said platforms like Facebook are “killing people” with vaccine misinformation. And Brian Boland, the former vice president of partnership strategy at Facebook,

By Alexis Benveniste OPEC+ agreed to increase oil production Sunday, as demand roars back and prices surge, ending a dispute between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Oil prices soared about two weeks ago after major producers, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, fell out over plans to increase production in the face of

By Chris Isidore, CNN Business Who are the real winners from the record high car prices? Not the automakers. Despite sky high prices and surging customer demand, most automakers are about to report that revenue is down from where it was in the second quarter of 2019, a “normal” period before the pandemic that is

By Frank Pallotta, CNN Business LeBron James took his talents to the movies this weekend and came away with a hit. “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” which stars James alongside the Looney Tunes, brought in an estimated $31.6 million in its North America opening this weekend. That exceeded industry expectations, which projected the film to

By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business After a blockbuster 2020, Netflix’s stock is having a rough year. What’s happening: Shares soared 67% last year, but are down 1% in 2021. The S&P 500, meanwhile, has rallied 16%. Subscriber growth has been slowing significantly as more people receive Covid-19 vaccinations and competition among streaming services ramps up.

By Rachel Trent, CNN Alexa is getting a much bigger personality. Amazon announced this week that the voices of Melissa McCarthy and Shaquille O’Neal are now available on Alexa devices. McCarthy and O’Neal join Samuel L. Jackson as Alexa celebrity personalities. And if this launch is anything like Jackson’s, it’s going to be a big

By Moira Ritter, CNN Business You might’ve heard that everything is getting more expensive. Well, that’s mostly true. It wasn’t easy, but we found a handful of items that are still cheaper than when the pandemic started last year. Here are some of the things that are cheaper than they were in February 2020. Clothing

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business The Dow and S&P 500 are both up about 15% in 2021 and are each about a percent away from their all-time highs. But as Friday’s market sell-off showed, investors remain extremely nervous about the market. The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index, which looks at seven different

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business Consumers were spending like mad last month, but investors don’t seem too impressed. Stocks ended Friday in the red, even though the government reported a solid rebound in retail sales for June. The Dow dropped nearly 300 points, a loss of about 0.9%. Oil stocks and banks led

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business Banks have been on a shopping spree for the past year — and that’s raising some alarm bells in Washington. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown have been critical of the top banks for their dealmaking, citing concerns that the spate of mergers will hurt average consumers and