Money

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — The backbone of America’s economy remains solid, despite a slowing job market, elevated interest rates and still-high inflation. Sales at US retailers unexpectedly surged in July, the Commerce Department said Thursday, rising by a solid 1% from the prior month, up from June’s downwardly revised 0.2% decline. That

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — Americans are cutting back on Disney parks, Big Macs and Starbucks coffee. But they keep shopping at Walmart. Walmart’s US sales at stores open for at least one year increased 4.2% last quarter and its operating income surged 8.5% during the quarter. Walmart’s US digital sales are

By Matt Egan and Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN (CNN) — Columbia University President Minouche Shafik is stepping down months after protests over the Israel-Hamas war gripped the campus, Shafik announced in a letter sent Wednesday to the Columbia community. Shafik — an Egyptian-born economist and former high-ranking official at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — Wally Amos, the charismatic founder of Famous Amos cookies, has died at age 88, according to a statement signed by his children. In the statement, his children said the cause was complications of dementia. “He was a true original Black American hero,” said the statement, signed “Sarah,

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — If you’re a Shake Shack customer in Los Angeles, your next burger could come on a little robot with wheels. The fast casual burger chain and Serve Robotics announced a partnership Wednesday to deliver meals through autonomous delivery robots via the Uber Eats app. The robot, which

CNN By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — A man suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for the wrongful death of his wife is facing a new legal hurdle: Disney is trying to get it thrown out of court and sent to arbitration — because he signed up for Disney+ years earlier. Court documents

By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN New York (CNN) — Shopping around for a car? You’re in luck. Shopping around for a new auto insurance policy? Better buckle up. New, used and even rental car prices continue to slide while car insurance rates remain vastly elevated. That diverging trend seems counterintuitive: If the price tag for a

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — LL Flooring, formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, has filed for bankruptcy and will close 94 of its stores across the United States. But the retailer is not liquidating itself immediately, as the company recently announced that it had entered Chapter 11, which allows for a re-organization rather

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Americans aren’t getting their Big Mac fix at McDonald’s anymore. They’re going to Chili’s instead. Brinker International, Chili’s parent company, reported a nearly 15% in jump in same-store sales and increase of almost 6% in traffic for the most recent quarter thanks in part to a promotion

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — A man suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for the wrongful death of his wife is facing a new legal hurdle: Disney is trying to get it thrown out of court and sent to arbitration — because he signed up for Disney+ years earlier. Court documents show

By Hanna Ziady, CNN London (CNN) — Mars has agreed to buy Kellanova in a deal that values the maker of Cheez-It and Pringles at almost $29 billion. Kellanova said in a regulatory filing that its shareholders would receive $83.50 per share in cash, a 33% premium to the stock’s closing price on August 2,

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Until last year, Janet Albrecht could afford to eat roast beef sandwiches or tuna salad for lunch. But the widowed 78-year-old now has to skimp on her meals because her Social Security benefits haven’t kept up with the rising costs for food, housing and health care in recent years.

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — In 2018, Chipotle was reeling from food safety fears after an E. coli outbreak, restaurants were considered messy, and new menu items like queso weren’t landing with customers. The company turned to Brian Niccol to solve its mountain of problems. Niccol had previously led a turnaround effort

By Jon Passantino and Liam Reilly, CNN (CNN) — In the hours after President Joe Biden’s historic decision to step aside from the 2024 presidential race last month, journalists across three major US newsrooms began receiving emails from an anonymous person claiming to have tantalizing new information about the election. The individual, who identified themself

CNN By Jon Passantino and Liam Reilly, CNN (CNN) — In the hours after President Joe Biden’s historic decision to step aside from the 2024 presidential race last month, journalists across three major US newsrooms began receiving emails from an anonymous person claiming to have tantalizing new information about the election. The individual, who identified

By Chris Lau and Hassan Tayir, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — During China’s go-go years, young couples holding enormous bouquets of roses were a familiar sight during the Qixi Festival, an ancient holiday celebrating love and loyalty. People would flock to social media to show off brand-new iPhones and Louis Vuitton handbags gifted by their partners,

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued General Motors Tuesday, alleging the carmaker illegally collected and sold drivers’ data to insurance companies without their consent or knowledge, according to a release from the AG’s office. General Motors is the first car manufacturer to be hit with a lawsuit

CNN By Erika Tulfo, CNN (CNN) — Despite sweltering August temperatures, more stores are rolling out products in what was once the quintessential fall flavor: pumpkin spice. IHOP will launch its fall-themed lineup on September 1, including pumpkin spice pancakes, pumpkin spice cold foam cold brew and maple pumpkin cheesecake-flavored pancakes. And Krispy Kreme unveiled

By Liam Reilly, CNN New York (CNN) — Comcast and NBCUniversal are taking home their own Olympic gold. The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris drew a combined average of 30.6 million viewers across NBCU’s constellation of platforms, marking an 82% jump in viewership compared to the Tokyo Games and making the Games the most-streamed Olympics of all time. The media giant on Monday shared that its coverage saw a whopping 23.5 billion minutes of