Category: Business & Markets

Texas Manufacturing Survey Falls for Fifth Straight Month

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’s Texas Manufacturing Outlook survey for June fell for the fifth straight month. Texas manufacturing output growth plunged 3 percent, to -4.2 percent in June, indicating a slight contraction in output, according to the Dallas Fed survey, published on June 26. Survey officials asked 85 regional manufacturers a series of…


US Goods Trade Deficit Narrows; Retail Inventories Rise

WASHINGTON—The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed in May as imports fell, but the improvement was probably insufficient to prevent trade from being a drag on economic growth in the second quarter. The hit from trade on gross domestic product was, however, likely to be offset by a rise in inventory investment, with the report…


House Prices Will Fall by 5 Percent This Year: Report

UK house prices will fall by 5 percent this year as buyers have been hit by higher mortgage rates and rising living costs, a real estate portal has reported. Zoopla’s House Price Index showed a 1.2 percent annual rise in UK house prices in the last year, adding, however, that just a year ago, the…


How a Faith-Based Gold Company Is Changing the Way Americans Protect Their Retirement

When Genesis Gold Group was first conceived, co-founder Jonathan Rose knew two things were necessary in order to thrive in the extremely competitive precious metals industry. First, he knew they wouldn’t repeat the same deceptive marketing tactics “Big Gold” companies use to entice customers. Second, he knew they needed spiritual guidance if they were going…


Jeremy Hunt to Discuss Profiteering From Inflation With Consumer Watchdogs

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to meet with consumer watchdogs on Wednesday amid concerns that some retailers have been raising prices to boost profits during the current period of high inflation. Retailers will face questions about failing to pass on lower costs to consumers, as Hunt meets with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), energy…


How Do We Stop ESG and DEI From Destroying Capitalism?

Commentary In America, if environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates are accepted in their current form, capitalism will most likely be destroyed. The widespread acceptance of ESG and DEI by American business giants is as concerning as it is eye-rolling. Large corporations routinely play games to attract stock buyers’…


Costco Clamps Down on Membership Card Sharing at Self-Checkout

Costco has begun clamping down on non-member shoppers using other people’s membership cards, the company confirmed in a statement on June 27. As part of the crackdown, the retailer has started requesting that shoppers now show their membership cards with a photo when they head to self-checkout registers. Those who do not have a photo…


Study Accuses Google of Violating Promised Advertising Standards and Misleading Businesses

Google allegedly misled numerous companies by violating its promised quality standards while placing video ads on third-party websites and apps, thus potentially costing these firms billions of dollars, according to a recent report. Google’s TrueView delivers advertisements on YouTube as well as millions of third-party apps and websites. Google charges a premium from customers promising…


Russian Court Fines Google an Additional $47 Million

A Russian court has fined Alphabet’s Google 4 billion roubles ($47 million) for failing to pay an earlier fine over alleged abuse of its dominant position in the video hosting market, the country’s anti-monopoly watchdog said on Tuesday. Google was fined 2 billion roubles in February 2022. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) at the time…


Google Lays Off Staff at Its Mapping App Waze

Alphabet-owned Google on Tuesday said it is cutting jobs at mapping app Waze as it merges the app’s advertising system with Google Ads technology, without giving details on the number of layoffs. “In order to create a better, more seamless long-term experience for Waze advertisers, we’ve begun transitioning Waze’s existing advertising system to Google Ads…