Economy

What began as a banner day for stocks turned into a major rout, as investors signaled ongoing skepticism about the longevity of the artificial intelligence boom and trimmed hopes of support from the Federal Reserve. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2%, and the broad S&P 500 index dropped by more than 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial

Bitcoin and ether slumped to multi-month lows on Friday, with cryptocurrencies swept up in a broader flight from riskier assets as investors worried about lofty tech valuations and bets on near-term U.S. interest rate cuts faded. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, fell 5.5% to a seven-month low of $81,668. Ether slid more than 6% to

Shoppers are still flocking to Walmart. The company raised its full-year earnings and sales outlook Thursday, heading into the crucial holiday shopping season. Walmart also offered fresh signs that it is shedding its original identity as a strictly down-market brick-and-mortar operation by growing its e-commerce business and increasing its market share of higher-income shoppers. Walmart’s

The United States added 119,000 jobs in September, a stronger-than-expected figure and a sign that the economy was adding jobs at a healthy clip before government shutdown. But the details of the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics paint a more mixed picture, that of a labor market that has recently begun to look

Walmart announced Friday that longtime CEO Doug McMillon will retire at the end of January — which came as a surprise to some given the company’s success in a rapidly evolving retail landscape. John Furner, Walmart’s U.S. CEO, will assume the role of overall CEO on Feb. 1, the company said. McMillon will continue to

More than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers went on strike at 65 U.S. stores Thursday to protest a lack of progress in labor negotiations with the company. The strike was intended to disrupt Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, which is typically one of the company’s busiest days of the year. Since 2018, Starbucks has given out free,

U.S.-based companies announced more than 153,000 job cuts in October, the research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday. “This is the highest total for October in over 20 years, and the highest total for a single month in the fourth quarter since 2008,’ the firm said in a news release. From January through the

Yum Brands said on Tuesday it was exploring strategic options for its Pizza Hut chain as the unit struggles to keep pace in a highly competitive fast-food industry vying for sales from a stressed consumer. “Pizza Hut‘s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realize its full value, which may

Kimberly-Clark said on Monday it will buy Tylenol maker Kenvue KVUE.N in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $48.7 billion, to create one of the biggest consumer health goods companies in the United States. Shares of Kenvue were up 18% in premarket trading, while Kimberly-Clark‘s shares were down 12.5%. Kenvue has been under a strategic

President Donald Trump’s tariffs are hitting toy giants Mattel and Hasbro as the critical holiday season nears. Still, both companies see a successful year end ahead. “This quarter, our U.S. business was again challenged by industry-wide shifts in retailer ordering patterns,” CEO Ynon Kreiz said on Mattel’s recent earnings call. “That said, consumer demand for