CNN – Business/Consumer

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

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business Moderna, the biotech that became a household name with its Covid-19 vaccine, is getting the ultimate Wall Street validation: It’s being added to the S&P 500 index. S&P made the announcement late Thursday, and shares of Moderna surged 10% Friday morning on the news. The stock is now

By Julia Horowitz, CNN Business As the stock market soars to new heights, companies have been racing to issue shares, leveraging the enthusiasm to generate cash for their businesses. But the game isn’t just being played on Wall Street. What’s happening: This has been a huge week for initial public offerings in India, which has

By Charles Riley, CNN Business Danish Siddiqui, a Reuters photographer who won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing the violence faced by Rohingya refugees, has been killed in clashes near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Siddiqui was the news agency’s chief photographer in India, based in Mumbai. Reuters reported Siddiqui’s death on Friday, citing an Afghan commander who said

By Jill Disis, CNN Business The US government is preparing to warn American companies about the risks of doing business in Hong Kong. US President Joe Biden on Thursday confirmed reports in various media outlets this week that his administration plans to soon issue an advisory to companies that will caution them of a “deteriorating”

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. In a typical newsroom, one team covers the horse race of electoral politics: Who won, who lost, and why. A different team might cover voting rights if there’s the budget

By Chauncey Alcorn, CNN Business A former Sony Electronics employee is suing the company and several individuals, accusing her former boss of sabotaging her career and making racist, verbally abusive comments. The woman filing the lawsuit, Duwanikia “Monica” Hill, who is Black, says she was fired from her role as an account manager after she

By Allison Morrow, CNN Business Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN Business’ Nightcap newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free, here. In today’s business news: Jeff Bezos’s space flight has a last-minute passenger swap; why it might be time to chuck your Neutrogena sunscreen; and Oatly is

By Alexis Benveniste, CNN Business Oatly’s stock fell more than 9% before recovering slightly Thursday after a hedge fund accused the company of overstating its revenue and misleading investors about its sustainability claims. In a 124-page document released Wednesday, Spruce Point Capital dismisses the oat milk trend as a “food fad” and accuses Oatly of

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Business It was never the fanciest meal and wasn’t always the tastiest. But in the before times, lunch at the grocery store salad bar was a quick and convenient stop for people who were in a rush or had run out of other ideas. Now, it’s looking like the salad bar

By Alison Kosik, CNN The Smithsonian said Thursday that Jeff Bezos will donate $200 million to the museum, the largest gift the institution has received since its founding in 1846. A $70 million portion will go to renovating the National Air and Space Museum and $130 million will be used to launch a new education