American consumers are holding it together despite surging energy prices, concerns about the job market and stock market volatility, according to Bank of America executives.

Why it matters: As one of the largest banks in the country, BofA has a direct line of sight into the financial health of consumers.

The big picture: In a call with reporters this morning, BofA CFO Alastair Borthwick said, "Our data continues to tell us that the American consumer remains resilient."

• Noting that the labor market remains steady, with unemployment currently at 4.3%, BofA CEO Brian Moynihan told CNBC that "as long as that's true, the general economy, the general consumer will be in good shape."
• On the company's earnings call, he described the economy as "resilient ... even with all the uncertainty that you've all written about out there."

By the numbers: BofA customers spent 6% more via credit and debit cards in the first quarter than they did in the same period a year earlier, Moynihan said on the call.

• That included an increase in spending on discretionary categories like entertainment and travel, Moynihan noted, reflecting a degree of confidence in their financial standing.
• "We're in a period right now where unemployment is good. Home prices are good. Asset prices are good. Savings remain elevated," Borthwick told analysts.

Yes, but: Gasoline prices remain at a high for the year after the Iran war spiked oil prices.

• The national average per gallon was $4.11 nationally today, according to AAA.
• That's up from $3.70 a month ago and $3.17 at this point in 2025.

The bottom line: Consumers aren't letting the energy prices get them down... yet.

Bayer CEO Bill Anderson says the German crop science and drug company is hoping to move past the long-running controversy over its Roundup weedkiller in 2026.

Why it matters: Bayer — which acquired Roundup when it bought Monsanto in 2018 — recently announced a $7.25 billion settlement deal and is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling that could decide the product's fate in the U.S.

• Anderson, speaking with Nathan in an interview this afternoon, says the settlement and the legal fight — which experts believe the company will win — are "major milestones" in Bayer's turnaround.

State of play: The Supreme Court is poised to rule on whether states have the authority to govern Roundup, or whether federal environmental regulators should control its fate.

• Bayer says it should be the latter.
• "We need a predictable regulatory regime," Anderson says. "It can't be that the reward for innovating and developing better, safer products is endless lawsuits. And so the Supreme Court ruling is really critical."

The other side: Some watchdogs and alleged victims of Roundup say the product is unsafe and should be blocked from the market.

Go deeper

⛳️ LIV Golf's future is suddenly in the rough, as its financial backer — Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund — is reportedly considering cutting its support for the league. (FT)

🏷️ Walmart is overhauling its biggest brand, Great Value, for the first time in more than a decade. (Axios)

⚡️ Ford's EV leader, Doug Field, is leaving the company. The automaker is planning to introduce new EVs that CEO Jim Farley has described as critical to its future. (CNBC)

And you thought Allbirds was a shoe company.

Zoom in: The ecommerce-focused shoe brand — which was already shrinking — announced a head-turning pivot to AI today.

• The company is rebranding its remaining operation as NewBird AI after agreeing to sell its footwear assets to American Exchange Group.
• It said it will "pivot its business to AI compute infrastructure, with a long-term vision to become a fully integrated GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) and AI-native cloud solutions provider."

The impact: Investors were pumped about this: The stock soared 582% to $16.99.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: It's not uncommon for struggling companies to make last-ditch efforts to reinvent themselves, but this is a bird of a different feather.