Money

By Anna Bahney, CNN Washington, DC (CNN) — Homebuilder confidence surged in January as mortgage rates continued to trend lower, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released Wednesday. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes surpassed market expectations, climbing seven points to 44 on the index.

By Gregory Wallace, Pete Muntean and Curt Devine, CNN Washington (CNN) — Investigators probing why part of a Boeing 737 Max 9 blew open mid-flight earlier this month have not yet determined if bolts were installed on that piece of the aircraft. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters after a closed-door briefing

CNN By Laura He and Simone McCarthy, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — China reported a record low birth rate in 2023 as its population shrank for the second year in a row. The trend marked the deepening of a demographic challenge set to have significant implications on the world’s second largest economy. The country recorded

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington, DC (CNN) — Americans spent at a faster clip in December, closing out a year of surprising economic resilience largely driven by the US consumer. Spending at US retailers rose 0.6% in December from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That was a much stronger pace than November’s 0.3%

By Hanna Ziady, CNN London (CNN) — UK inflation accelerated in December for the first time since February last year, official data showed Wednesday. Consumer prices rose 4% last month compared with a year ago, up from a rate of 3.9% in November, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNN New York (CNN) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday said it is proposing a rule that would curb excessive overdraft fees charged to customers of large banks and credit unions, potentially saving consumers as much as $3.5 billion a year. The rule would only apply to banks and credit

By Jessie Yeung, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Japanese brand Uniqlo is suing Shein over claims the Chinese fast-fashion retailer is selling copycats of its viral shoulder bag. Fast Retailing, the Japanese giant that owns both Uniqlo and Theory, said in a statement that the form of the “imitation products” that Shein is selling “closely resembles” Uniqlo’s

By Laura He and Simone McCarthy, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — China reported a record low birth rate in 2023 as its population shrank for the second year in a row. The trend marked the deepening of a demographic challenge set to have significant implications on the world’s second largest economy. The country recorded 6.39

By Samantha Delouya, CNN (CNN) — Disney CEO Bob Iger raked in $31.6 million in compensation last year – a multi-million-dollar boost from his income the year before. Iger’s 2023 pay package included a base salary of $865,385, stock awards totaling $16.1 million, $10 million in stock option awards, $2.1 million in performance-based compensation and

By Parija Kavilanz, CNN New York (CNN) — The US Department of Labor is proposing a $212,646 fine against a Mississippi poultry processor after a 16-year-old sanitation worker was pulled into a chicken deboning machine and killed. The child became the second worker killed in just over two years at the plant. The same facility

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN (CNN) — With temperatures bottoming out across the country, electric vehicle drivers are probably noticing their driving range plummeting. Here’s why it keeps happening – and there’s more to it than you might think. Tests by the consumer advocacy group Consumer Reports showed that EV driving range dropped by about 25%

By Krystal Hur and Chris Isidore, CNN New York (CNN) — Spirit Airlines shares tanked 47% on Tuesday after a federal judge in Boston ruled against JetBlue’s proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of the discount airline. The ruling outlined several concerns, including increased fares for flyers, particularly for discount airlines Spirit’s customers and significant debt for

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Washington state is suing to block the proposed $25 billion merger between supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons, warning that if approved it could raise prices and harm consumers. In a suit filed Monday by the state’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson, his reasons for opposing the merger are

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — Bad news if you’re mooching off of someone else’s Costco membership: The retail giant is cracking down. When you enter Costco, you need to show your membership card to an employee to shop. Costco membership cards are non-transferable, but the company allows members to give a second

By David Goldman, CNN New York (CNN) — As if Boeing needed any more bad news, a scathing report from Wall Street on Tuesday cast doubt on Boeing’s ability to pass a new federal safety audit, sending its stock sinking sharply. Later Tuesday, Boeing announced an independent adviser who will lead a review of the

By Anna Cooban, CNN London (CNN) — Japanese technology company Fujitsu has a “moral obligation” to compensate the victims of Britain’s Post Office scandal, the boss of its European arm said Tuesday. Between 1999 and 2015, scores of people who ran branches of the government-owned Post Office were falsely accused of theft and fraud after

By Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN (CNN) — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Tuesday that he is “hopeful” and “optimistic” about the future of artificial intelligence, but that countries should be on the same page when it comes to embracing a set of industry standards. In a conversation

By Brian Fung, CNN (CNN) — Apple will have to comply with a sweeping injunction reshaping its relationship with mobile app developers and potentially billions dollars in app-related sales, after the US Supreme Court declined to review the lower court’s order on Tuesday. Apple estimated in 2022 that developers generated $1.1 trillion in the App

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — It’s no secret that Bill Gates is bullish on artificial intelligence, but he’s now predicting that the technology will be transformative for everyone within the next five years. The rise of AI has elicited fear that the technology will eliminate millions of jobs around the world. The