Cracker Barrel is gradually reinventing itself after admitting that it had fallen behind the competition.
Why it matters: CEO Julie Masino turned heads in May when she told investors, "We're just not as relevant as we once were."
The latest: The chain's comp restaurant sales rose 4.7% in its most recent quarter, compared with a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA jumped 19.6%.
It was the third straight quarter of comp restaurant sales growth.
State of play: Cracker Barrel is overhauling worker processes and "evolving the way we interact with guests across all touch points" after completing an "audit" of the "guest journey," Masino said.
Tesla is at risk of bleeding cash in the first quarter of 2025 amid growing signs that CEO Elon Musk's political endeavors are scaring off potential customers.
Why it matters: Tesla has seismic ambitions — including self-driving cars and humanoid robots — that may depend on its core business to generate funding.
Delta Air Lines is helping a California startup, JetZero, bring this revolutionary aircraft to the skies for testing as soon as 2027.
Why it matters: The blended-wing-body airframe is expected to be up to 50% more fuel efficient than today's tube-and-wing aircraft, a huge advantage for airlines seeking to decarbonize their operations.
Sam Bankman-Fried today reiterated his belief that he was not a criminal and highlighted his affinity for Republicans, in an interview with Tucker Carlson.
Why it matters: His parents have been angling for a pardon from President Trump.
While addressing tariffs in his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, President Trump said, "There will be a little disturbance, but we are OK with that."
America's fraying relationship with longtime allies is driving global economic shifts that were unthinkable just months ago.
Why it matters: Policy changes in the U.S. are rippling beyond its borders.
Some of the world's biggest economies are in the midst of their own policy regime changes — pledging investments and adjustments in response to President Trump that could outlast him.
Republicans overwhelmingly support President Trump'stariffs in spite of the higher costs they're likely to face as a result of them, according to a new Economist/YouGovpoll out this week.
Why it matters: After promising to lower prices if elected, Trump's tariffs targeting the U.S.'s biggest trade partners will cost the average American household at least $830 per year, economists have warned.
Onsemi on Thursday announced an offer to buy New Hampshire chipmaker Allegro Microsoystems for $6.9 billion in cash, with Allegro responding that the unsolicited bid is "inadequate."
The big picture: Suitors don't normally disclose their desires via press release, which suggests that onsemi's hope is to get an assist from Allegro shareholders. It also may suggest a willingness to go hostile.
TikTok has less than one month until its U.S. lifeline expires, but sources say there still haven't been negotiations between its Chinese owner and prospective buyers.
After a two-month honeymoon, where the value of just about anything Trump-adjacent rose as he prepared to take office, markets have now soured on many "Trump trades."
Why it matters: At some point, the declines will test whether there's still a "Trump put," as in his first presidency — where Trump tended to swiftly reverse policies the market didn't like — or if Trump 2.0 really doesn't care as much about markets.
Donald Trump famously believes that "trade wars are good, and easy to win," as he tweeted in 2018. The market, however, believes the opposite: That a trade war is bad, is easy to lose, and could plunge the U.S. into an avoidable recession.
Why it matters: Trump 1.0 listened to the market. Trump 2.0 is very different.
Here's what's new on Disney+, Netflix, Max, Hulu, Paramount+ and Prime Video.
What we're watching: The return of "Daredevil" to the small screen, the seventh season of "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" and the finale of "The Righteous Gemstones."
There were fewer pedestrian deaths on U.S. roads in the first half of 2024 compared to a year prior, but nearly 50% more than a decade ago, a new projection finds.
Why it matters: Cities worldwide are trying to reduce pedestrian deaths — so many of which are utterly avoidable — though "Vision Zero" programs, lower speed limits, "traffic calming" road design and more.
Buy your local economist a drink: The economic backdrop is more chaotic and uncertain than it's been in years — a result of fast-moving and sometimes vague Trump policy.
Why it matters: There is a growing list of factors that could put downward pressure on the economy — tariffs, spending cuts, a looming government shutdown and more.
An appeals court on Wednesday allowed President Trump's removal of the head of an independent watchdog agency that investigates federal workers' whistleblower reports while a legal challenge to the firing plays out.
The big picture: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals paused a lower court ruling that Hampton Dellinger should continue in his role leading the Office of Special Counsel after agreeing with him that his firing was "unlawful."
