Business

Private payrolls increased at a faster than expected pace in April, indicating there are still plenty of tailwinds for the U.S. labor market, according to ADP. The payrolls processing firm reported Wednesday that companies added 192,000 workers for the month, better than the Dow Jones consensus outlook for 183,000 though a slight step down from the upwardly revised 208,000 in ...

It’s finally here: the long-predicted consumer pullback. Starbucks announced a surprise drop in same-store sales for its latest quarter, sending its shares down 17% on Wednesday. Pizza Hut and KFC also reported shrinking same-store sales. And even stalwart McDonald’s said it has adopted a “street-fighting mentality” to compete for value-minded diners. For months, economists have been predicting that consumers would cut back on their spending in response to ...

People looking to buy or sell a home this spring are paying close attention to mortgage rates. The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.17% for the week ended April 25, according to Freddie Mac data via the Federal Reserve. The rate was 7.10% the prior week. Buyers and sellers may not see any relief soon. It remains unclear when the Fed ...

Since retiring two years ago, Joan Harris has upped her travel game. Once or twice a year, she visits her two adult children in different states. She’s planning multiple other trips, including to a science fiction convention in Scotland and a Disney cruise soon after that, along with a trip next year to neolithic sites in Great Britain. “I really ...

Amazon says it is getting even more packages to customers in one day or sooner, a metric the e-retailer is promoting to customers as it faces heightened competition in online shopping. The company said on Monday that nearly 60% of orders placed through Prime in the top 60 U.S. metro areas in the first quarter arrived the same or next day. ...

Walmart is debuting a new grocery brand, as the discounter tries to retain the shoppers it has attracted during a period of high inflation. On Tuesday, the big-box retailer said it will roll out a private label called BetterGoods, a line of more trend-and chef-driven foods. Most items will be priced at less than $5. Walmart is already the country’s largest ...

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish is stepping down, the company announced Monday, as merger negotiations with Skydance Media continue. Bakish climbed the corporate ladder after joining Viacom in 1997, until he became CEO of the company in 2016. Following the merger of Viacom and CBS, he became CEO of the combined company in 2019, which was later renamed Paramount Global. He is ...

Walmart will close all 51 of its doctor-staffed health clinics as part of an announcement that its Walmart Health initiative is shutting down. The clinics, located in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois and Texas, had been open just a few years. Walmart also said Tuesday it is winding down its virtual care option. Walmart pharmacies and vision centers will not be ...

McDonald’s reported mixed quarterly results Tuesday as its reorganization weighed on its profit and boycotts hurt its Middle Eastern sales. The company also continues to see consumers worldwide pull back on their restaurant spending. “Consumers continue to be even more discriminating with every dollar that they spend as they faced elevated prices in their day-to-day spending, which is putting pressure on the [quick-service ...

Paramount Global and Skydance Media are making progress on a deal that would merge the media companies and buy out controlling shareholder Shari Redstone. Paramount Global’s special committee and David Ellison’s Skydance Media, backed by private equity firms KKR and RedBird Capital Partners, are narrowing in on how to value Skydance’s assets as part of a merger, as well as how ...