Surging gas prices and sky-high mortgages and rent sent inflation rising more than expected in March, adding to Americans’ prolonged and painful battle with high costs. That could force the Federal Reserve to keep its punishing rates higher for longer. US consumer prices picked up again last month, vaulting to a 3.5% increase for the […]
Category: Business
Hotel prices in solar eclipse path of totality soar
Susan Hochman, who for seven years has been planning to travel to see the solar eclipse on April 8, will be shelling out hundreds of dollars for a one-night stay at a modest hotel room in Saranac Lake, New York, which is in the path of the so-called totality. She’ll be spending $650 to spend […]
Dollar stores are going broke across the country
Shoppers across large swaths of the country are mourning the bargains they’ll soon never bag again behind the bright-pink-branded storefronts. 99 Cents Only Stores — a discount chain with stores in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada — is winding down its business operations at all 371 locations, the company said Thursday. After more than four […]
Easter Bunny inflation is out of control
Cocoa prices are going nuts: The bean is now more valuable than several precious metals and has surged faster than even bitcoin. After cocoa passed the all-time record it hit in 1977 of $5,400 per metric ton, right before Valentine’s Day – melting not just hearts but also wallets – one of the cocoa prices […]
Crypto King Sam-Bankman Fried gets 25 years
Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of his now-bankrupt firm. The ruling cements the downfall of the former billionaire, who emerged as a high profile champion of crypto before his firm’s dramatic collapse in 2022. He was found to […]
Macy’s is closing 30% of it’s stores this year
Macy’s on Tuesday said it plans to close roughly 150 underperforming stores over the next three years, the struggling retailer’s latest effort to energize its business as it seeks to fend off a proposed takeover by activist investors. The department store chain said it plans to focus on expanding its luxury brands, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury. […]
Got $7m ? You can buy a 30 sec Super Bowl Ad
Super Bowl commercials are big business, with brands shelling out millions of dollars for the right to get their products out in front of the 100 million-plus viewers who tune into the NFL’s championship game every year. The prices for a 30-second spot have skyrocketed since the first big game kicked off back in the […]
Inflation hits Girl Scout cookies; thin mints $7
As if sticker shock in grocery stores hasn’t been enough, inflation has hit another consumer favorite: Girl Scout Cookies. Since Girl Scouts in New York started their annual cookie sales last week, customers have been paying $7 a box for favorites like Thin Mints, Samoas and Tagalongs, up from $5 last year. “It has been […]
What the heck is Bubble Tea, & why is it popular?
A classic Asian drink has become one of the US’s fastest-growing refreshments — creating a global food export stranglehold for Taiwan, its place of origin. Bubble tea, also known as boba, is named for the chewy, rubbery tapioca balls that give the sweet beverage its unique mouthfeel, commonly known among boba addicts as “QQ.” Its […]
Trump’s NY business empire could implode today
A New York state judge has the future of Donald Trump’s business empire in his hands. After a contentious 11-week trial, Judge Arthur Engoron is poised to rule how much money Trump and his co-defendants owe for fraud as well as whether the former president can still do business in the state. He has already […]
Americans are pi*sed over rising property taxes
Americans are growing increasingly frustrated at property tax levels, a new poll has shown. According to a new UChicago Harris/AP-NORC poll, around two thirds of Americans surveyed believe their property tax rate is too high. The poll was conducted in 2023, between December 14 to 18, with 1,024 participants across all 50 states and the […]
Soaring rents create record number of homeless
A growing number of Americans are ending up homeless as soaring rents in recent years squeeze their budgets. According to a Jan. 25 report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, roughly 653,000 people reported experiencing homelessness in January of 2023, up roughly 12% from the same time a year prior and 48% from 2015. […]