CNN – Business/Consumer

By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business Home prices in the United States increased at the fastest rate on record in 2021. That’s drawn in a flood of investors looking to cash in on the boom. What’s happening: Investors bought 18.4% of homes sold across the country during the last three months of the year, according to

By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Business Restaurants have a delivery problem. Early in the pandemic, when eateries were forced to shut their doors, delivery became a lifeline. Restaurant operators scrambled to set up delivery channels from scratch or promote ones that previously existed. But there was a reason that many restaurants hadn’t focused on delivery before

By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN Business If you walk into one of 25 Fred Meyer stores in the Portland area this week, you’ll find something unusual. Gathered together at the end of an aisle will be an eclectic assortment of about 20 products, including shampoo and dish soap, barbecue sauce, granola and more. The items are

By Anneken Tappe, CNN Business American consumer confidence slipped again in February, a new report from the Conference Board said Tuesday. The index tracking how Americans are feeling fell to 110.5 this month, a steeper decline than economists had expected and the lowest level since September. The January number was revised down as well. Inflation

By Matt Egan, CNN Business As oil rapidly approaches $100 a barrel, JPMorgan warned Tuesday that a spike in energy prices and other ripple effects from the Russia-Ukraine crisis could hurt both the stock market and the economic recovery. “An energy price shock amidst an aggressive central bank pivot focused on inflation could further dampen

By Chris Isidore, CNN Business Tesla CEO Elon Musk is escalating his battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, accusing a staff member of illegally leaking the results of an investigation. Musk said the regulator is trying to “weaponize” an earlier consent decree he and Tesla signed “for illicit ends.” The allegations in a court

By Anna Bahney, CNN Business Home prices rose 18.8% in 2021, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, the biggest increase in 34 years of data and substantially ahead of 2020’s 10.4% gain. All regions saw price gains last year, but increases were strongest in the South and the Southeast, each

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business The highly anticipated arrival of boozy Mountain Dew is finally here, but not everyone will be able to get it at first. HARD MTN DEW is launching Tuesday at select retailers in Tennessee, Florida and Iowa. Availability of the sugar-free, spiked seltzer will expand to more states later this year