Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, now expects its profits from the second quarter to come in below previous estimates, saying the effects of inflation are having a ripple effect on customers.
Why it matters: Consumers have become more cautious about how they spend their money in light of high inflation. Companies are now readjusting their outlook and tightening their belts.
Watch out for Big Tech's earnings starting tomorrow as those reports will help drive markets this week.
Why it matters: Collective earnings and revenue from Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta have boosted the entire market since the start of the pandemic, MarketWatch notes.
The pandemic boom in grill sales is flaming out, roiling major manufacturers.
What’s happening: Weber on Monday announced the abrupt departure of its CEO amid plunging sales, while Traeger last week announced a round of job cuts.
Why it matters: The Commerce Department will release its initial estimate of second-quarter growth Thursday. If it shows that gross domestic product has fallen again, the U.S. would be in the colloquial definition of a recession, which is two consecutive quarters of contraction.
COVID-19 cases are on the rise with extremely transmissible Omicron BA.5 variant, and businesses — already struggling with labor shortages — are dealing with an influx of workers calling out sick.
By the numbers: Between June 29 and July 11, nearly 3.9 million people said they did not work because they were either sick with coronavirus symptoms or were caring for a sick loved one, according to recent Census Bureau data.
In comparison, almost 1.8 million people around the same time last year said they missed work for those reasons.
Facebook said Monday it's created a new music revenue sharing program that will allow creators to make money on videos that use licensed music.
Why it matters: The move will help Facebook and its parent company Meta better compete with TikTok for creators' time and attention. Previously, creators couldn't monetize videos with licensed music on Meta.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged former Republican Indiana Rep. Stephen Buyer with insider trading on Monday.
Driving the news: On two separate occasions, Buyer reportedly bought stock in companies that he learned would soon be acquired, earning him more than $300,000 in "illicit profits," according to the filing.
A new attack on the Federal Reserve from Sen. Elizabeth Warren is an early sign the central bank faces a rocky path ahead in navigating politics.
It will simultaneously face the music for allowing high inflation to take hold and for the economic pain resulting from its efforts to bring down prices.
Chartbeat, a content insights platform that's used by web publishers to measure and analyze traffic, was purchased by Cuadrilla Capital, an investment firm focused on enterprise software businesses, Chartbeat CEO John Saroff told Axios.
Why it matters: The deal will give Chartbeat the capital it needs to scale its business beyond providing traffic analytics for publishers on the editorial side.
General Motors is launching an ambitious effort to educate the public about electric vehicles, including a platform for curious shoppers to pepper EV specialists with live questions over video chat.
Why it matters: Automakers are spending billions of dollars to develop electric vehicles, but the public remains wary of them. And dealer salespeople often aren't much help in answering consumers' myriad EV questions, like:
Driving the news: The chain initiated a voluntary recall of multiple over-the-counter "medical products" that were stored and shipped to some stores between May 1 and June 10, according to a notice posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website.
Chipotle Mexican Grill has turned the stock market strategy "buy the dip" into a new game where it is giving away $200,000 in cryptocurrency and 650,000 promo codes for 1-cent guacamole and Queso Blanco.
Giant restaurant chains like KFC and Boston Market are making big-splash introductions of chicken nuggets on their menus this month, setting up a potential rematch of the epic chicken sandwich wars of 2019.
Why it matters: With chicken consumption on the rise, fast food industry titans think they can boost profits by catering to the nugget-loving tastes of younger consumers — who favor easy-to-grab finger foods and view dinosaur-shaped fare as a cultural touchstone.
