Why it matters:Loyalty programs have become a key battleground for winning younger diners and driving repeat visits, as chains invest heavily in perks, personalization and app engagement.
The economy has been steadily growing for the last five years, and inflation is way down from its peak nearly four years ago. Public opinion about the economy, by contrast, keeps plumbing new depths.
The big picture: Americans are decisively negative about the economic picture, despite conventional measures of economic performance remaining reasonably solid.
It suggests both a new political state of nature and an undercurrent of gloom that traditional economic data and analysis don't quite capture.
Weak consumer confidence, scarce inventory and higher mortgage rates — that combination explains the slow start to the spring home-buying season.
By the numbers: Existing-home sales fell 3.6% last month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million — down 1% from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The threat of new tariffs on drugmakers has set off a debate within the biotech industry over whether to cut voluntary pricing deals with the Trump administration in exchange for exemptions.
Why it matters: Small and midsize companies don't have the resources of a Pfizer or Merck to make price cuts, domestic manufacturing investments and other concessions the White House is seeking.
President Trump is pairing his Iran blockade with a sales pitch: Countries squeezed by the Strait of Hormuz — especially China — should buy more oil from the U.S. instead.
Why it matters: The U.S. rise to become the world's largest oil and gas producer — and largest exporter of liquefied natural gas — provides geopolitical leverage that Trump is attempting to wield.
It increasingly looks as if the inflation problem that emerged five years ago wasn't a one-off event, but the defining economic challenge of the decade — and Americans don't like it one bit.
The big picture: Price pressures were already reaccelerating in the last few months, and that was before the U.S.–Israeli attack on Iran disrupted global energy supplies.
