Category: Business & Markets

US Consumer Sentiment Jumps to Four-Month High on Debt-Cap Deal

Declining fears over inflation lifted American consumers’ spirits this month. U.S. consumer sentiment reading rebounded in June following a decline in May, after concerns over the debt-ceiling crisis faded and investor were buoyed by a strong labor market and stock market gains due to artificial intelligence (AI). Consumers’ near-term inflation expectations dropped to more than…


Major US Defense Contractor Lockheed Martin Sponsored DC Pride Parade

A major U.S. defense contractor that supplies aircraft equipment to all five branches of the U.S. military, Lockheed Martin, was front and center at the 2023 Capital Pride Alliance parade in Washington, joining Amazon and Target as a corporate sponsor for pride events. Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, shared a video…


Bank Executive Pay Could Be Seized for Failures Under Senate Bill Proposal

The Senate Banking Committee will consider a bipartisan bill that would allow government regulators to seize compensation from executives deemed responsible for a bank failure. The committee’s chairman, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Sen Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the panel’s ranking Republican, came to a deal on June 16 after a wave of regional bank failures…


Amazon’s $1.7 Billion Deal to Buy Roomba Maker iRobot Gets UK Approval

LONDON—British antitrust regulators cleared Amazon’s purchase of robot vacuum maker iRobot on Friday, but the $1.7 billion deal still faces scrutiny in the United States and Europe. The Competition and Markets Authority said it decided not to escalate its initial investigation because it concluded that the deal would not result in a “substantial lessening of…


Franchise Businesses, DEI, and Wall Street: FTC to the Rescue?

Commentary The promise of franchise businesses is that any schmuck with the money to buy one, the grit to do it, and the extraordinary work ethic required to run a business can be successful—and even become wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. No highfalutin Ivy League college degree (let alone an MBA!) to succeed in business;…


Fed’s Barkin Says ‘Comfortable Doing More’ If Inflation Does Not Fall

WASHINGTON—Richmond Federal Reserve president Thomas Barkin said Friday he is comfortable with further interest rate increases if coming data does not show that weakening demand for goods and services is feeding through to slower inflation. “I am still looking to be convinced of the plausible story that slowing demand returns inflation relatively quickly” to the…


Intel to Invest $4.6 Billion in New Chip Plant in Poland

WROCLAW, Poland/STOCKHOLM—Intel plans to invest up to $4.6 billion in a new semiconductor assembly and test facility near Wrocław, Poland, as part of a multi-billion-dollar investment drive across Europe to build chip capacity, it said on Friday. The U.S. chipmaker last year announced plans to build a big chip complex in Germany along with facilities…


US Homes for Sale Fall Nearly 40 Percent Amid Tight Market Conditions

The number of homes for sale has declined from pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, with high mortgage rates discouraging prospective sellers from putting their properties on the market, said real estate brokerage Redfin. There are now 39 percent fewer homes for sale on the market compared to five years ago in June 2018, according to a June…


Disney Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy Steps Down: Company

The Walt Disney Company confirmed that its chief financial officer, Christine McCarthy, is stepping down and will take a medical leave of absence, according to the media giant. Disney’s chief executive, Bob Iger, confirmed her departure in a news release issued Thursday, saying that McCarthy “is stepping down from her CFO role as she takes…


The Coming Mild Recession

Commentary Debate on recession prospects has three sides. One points to still strong jobs growth and contends that the economy will avoid recession altogether. A second side contends that the jobs numbers are misleading and that a recession is imminent. Yet a third splits the difference, arguing that a recession will wait until 2024. Forecasting…