Despite trade uncertainty, inflation and the government shutdown, the National Retail Federation anticipates sales in the 2025 holiday season will hit $1 trillion for the first time ever.

But a different forecast shows average consumer spend is expected to drop 10% from 2024. That’s according to professional services firm Deloitte, which ...Read more

There was a time when SUV and Aston Martin would have gone together like Château Lafite and Cheez Whiz. But times change, and even Aston Martin must bend to the cruel geometry of the modern luxury market.

But here's the surprise: the 2026 Aston Martin DBX S is not a betrayal of the brand. It is, in fact, the most Aston Martin thing they’...Read more

Volkswagen AG is reviving its rugged Scout line of SUVs and pickup trucks — originally conceived as pure electric vehicles — as a brand of primarily gasoline-electric hybrids.

More than eight out of 10 consumers who put down a $100 reservation on a Scout have selected plug-in hybrid versions over EVs, according to the brand’s top ...Read more

Jonette Gregory has spent nearly 40 years tracking Alaska Airlines' planes.

She’s not just an aviation enthusiast. Gregory’s job is to make sure Alaska’s fleet is operating smoothly, to identify snarls in the making before they interrupt a flight and to make recommendations about what to do if something unexpected happens.

She monitors ...Read more

Dell Technologies Inc., HP Inc. and other tech companies are warning of potential memory-chip supply shortages in the coming year due to soaring demand from the build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Consumer electronics makers including Xiaomi Corp. have sounded the alarm about potential price increases, while others including ...Read more

Snapchat, an app whose disappearing messages and silly face filters made chatting with loved ones more casual, is close to a milestone that few social media platforms achieve: reaching 1 billion monthly users.

But Snap, the Santa Monica company behind the app, faces a crucial test. The 14-year-old tech company is still losing money and has seen...Read more

Campbell’s Co. said Wednesday it no longer employs an executive who was allegedly recorded criticizing the company’s food and making racist remarks.

Martin Bally, a vice president of information technology at Campbell’s, said the company’s products were highly processed food for “poor people” and referred to Indian co-workers as �...Read more

As investors start to take sides in the AI race, Sam Altman’s buddies are getting burned.

SoftBank Group Corp.’s shares have tumbled 40% from late October, while Oracle Corp.’s stock has given up all gains made since early September, when the legacy database software company all of a sudden got an AI halo after announcing a $300 billion ...Read more

Lizzie Osorio remembers customers flooding Lion Boots in early May, browsing embroidered shoes and tasseled suede dresses.

Beyoncé had four concerts scheduled in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium for her Cowboy Carter tour. So the store tucked in Santee Alley, where 24-year-old Osorio works selling cowboy boots and other Western-style clothing, was ...Read more

WORTHINGTON, Minn. — A power developer has a novel plan to build a $4 billion data center in rural southwestern Minnesota, as well as an armada of wind, solar and battery plants the company hopes will attract a wealthy buyer.

Somewhere among the farm fields that dominate the landscape around the tiny enclaves of Brewster and Reading, Geronimo...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Farmers Insurance Group, California’s second-largest home insurance company, is seeking a rate hike amid plans to lift a cap on the number of new homeowner polices it writes each month in the state.

The insurer announced this month that it will eliminate the monthly 9,500 policy limit, while asking for state approval to ...Read more

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he plans to investigate Campbell Soup Company over allegations it uses “lab grown meat” in soups — a claim the company vehemently denies.

The investigation comes after a TV station in Detroit reported Monday on an audio recording of a Campbell’s vice president criticizing the company for ...Read more

California is among the world's largest economies, but the engines that drive it haven't been firing on all cylinders.

The state has been buffeted by a litany of layoffs this year from Hollywood to Silicon Valley — and beyond. Economists cite several explanations, including contraction in the entertainment industry, displacements caused by ...Read more

The U.S. government said Tuesday it negotiated a 71% discount off of the list price of Novo Nordisk A/S’s blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy for patients in Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly.

Medicare plans already get significant rebates and discounts off of drug company’s list prices, but the government ...Read more

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. posted better-than-projected 34% revenue growth in its cloud business, offsetting a plunge in profit after the company unleashed spending on consumer subsidies and data centers to ride an AI boom.

The cloud division, which houses the flagship Qwen platform, propelled overall revenue 5% higher to 247.8 billion yuan ($...Read more

KASSON, Minn. — There’s a little-known legume that blooms brilliant pink flowers and brings all sorts of benefits to both the soil it grows in and the animals that graze on it.

It’s called sainfoin, and Mary Hartman is building an industry on it.

“This is going to be the forage of the future,” she said.

Hartman’s business, ...Read more

Feeding the community was always in her family’s blood.

From church gatherings to potlucks, Lillian Rambus’ grandmother’s sweet potato pies and other dishes would delight those who were lucky enough to partake.

So when Rambus and her mom, Barbara Collins, teamed up to fulfill their dream of opening a soul food restaurant, Simply Soulful,...Read more

Investors are betting big that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again when policymakers meet next month, erasing doubts that had tipped the odds against a move as recently as last week and setting the stage for gains in U.S. bonds.

The amount of new positions held by traders in futures contracts tied to the central bank’s benchmark...Read more

U.S.-China collaboration in technology research has fallen steadily to the lowest in 20 years, a shift an Australian think tank warns could reshape global innovation vital to security and economic growth.

Only a quarter of China’s collaborations involve American researchers, down from over half a decade ago, according to the Australian ...Read more