Inflation finally cooled off in July, but food prices went in the opposite direction — hitting their highest rate of growth in some 43 years.
Why it matters: You might be able to escape price increases in discretionary items — but everyone has to eat. Plus, food price inflation hits low-income people the hardest as food eats a greater percentage of their budgets.
Sesame Place this week pledged to conduct a comprehensive racial equity assessment of company policies, implement anti-bias trainings for employees and enhance its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program.
Why it matters: The announcement comes after a viral video showed a costumed employee apparently gesturing "no" and ignoring two Black girls at the Sesame Street-themed amusement park despite high-fiving a white child and woman. The video spurred many other posts showing park employees' alleged refusal to engage with Black children and led to a class-action lawsuit.
Disney's stock spiked nearly 4% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the entertainment giant said it added 14.4 million Disney+ subscribers, blowing past Wall Street expectations.
Why it matters: Disney now has more than 221 million total subscriptions across all of its subscription streaming offerings globally, officially surpassing Netflix, which reported 220.7 million global subscribers last quarter, after losing nearly 1 million subscribers compared to the previous quarter.
After months of scorching inflation, things are finally looking a little more temperate. A big part of it is simply falling gasoline prices, but if you look closely at July's Consumer Price Index data, there are more hints that the worst may be behind us in terms of the pace of price hikes.
Driving the news: Overall prices were flat last month (actually, if you prefer not to round, down 0.02%). Core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% — below analyst expectations and the softest since March.
Coinbase Globalstepped into the spotlight for its earnings show-and-tell and delivered the stinker of a performance everyone expected.
Why it matters: Coinbase is the crypto industry's main character at the moment. As the highest-profile publicly traded crypto company in the U.S., its results are watched by many as a proxy for the health of an entire industry. And lately, it has become the venue for a public battle between it and securities regulators over what is not allowed.
Why it matters: France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands are facing water shortages and riverbeds are drying out across Europe. Dry conditions are severely affecting energy production, agriculture and river transportation.
Consumer prices were unchanged in July, as plunging prices for gasoline dragged the Consumer Price Index down to zero. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, rose only 0.3%, below what analysts expected.
Driving the news: The Labor Department reported that overall consumer prices rose 0% last month, and are up 8.5% over the past year. That compares to a 9.1% year-over-year reported in June.
Kohl's has added a faster way to get your online orders without needing to wait in line or for delivery.
Driving the news: The retailer shared exclusively with Axios that self-pickup is now available at its more than 1,100 stores nationwide ahead of the holiday shopping season.
If you're thinking of buying an electric car any time soon, you'd better place your order before President Biden signs the Democrats' big climate, tax and health care package into law — which could happen as soon as this weekend.
Why it matters: Democrats initially hoped to dramatically increase EV adoption via the bill, called the Inflation Reduction Act, by expanding the existing consumer tax credits for battery-powered vehicles.
Elon Musk sold more than $6.9 billion in Tesla shares, according to new filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission published Tuesday.
Why it matters: The selloff comes weeks after the Tesla CEO's bid to withdraw a $44 billion agreement to buy Twitter and ensuing legal battle with the tech giant, something Musk acknowledged on Tuesday night.
In what Amazon calls a first, the e-retailer on Tuesday sued a Rhode Island man and his company for allegedly selling fake, 5-star reviews to bolster seller feedback of third-party retailers who peddle products on Amazon.com.
Driving the news:The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, alleges that Trey King and his online business, AuctionSentinel.com, has been selling fake "verified feedback" to retailers, and posting reviews to "artificially inflate sellers' feedback ratings in the Amazon.com store."
Two U.S. House Democrats proposed a measure Tuesday that would make it illegal for airlines to offer flights when they know they don't have enough staff.
Why it matters: After two years of pandemic-related travel frustrations and a summer of canceled flights, the measure is the latest push by lawmakers to regulate the aviation industry.
