CNN – Business/Consumer

By Natasha Chen, CNN (CNN) — Disney recently announced a huge slate of projects for parks and cruises in front of 12,000 of its most loyal fans, who will almost certainly return to Disney’s theme parks to experience those new offerings, no matter what it costs. But whether a frequent visitor or a first-timer, Disney’s

By Matt Egan, CNN New York (CNN) — Renters are gaining the upper hand in the balance of power with landlords. Apartment units are staying on the market for longer. Vacancy rates are rising. And rental growth is slowing. Now, landlords are being forced to offer sweeteners like free parking and free weeks of rent

By Hassan Tayir, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Xiaotu was looking for a soulmate but the typical routes of meeting people on campus or swiping online dating apps just weren’t cutting it for him. Instead, the 23-year-old decided to go big: paying 999 yuan (about $140) to place a personal advertisement on a gigantic 6.5

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — The standard, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.49% this week, up slightly from the prior week’s level, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. But that’s still well below this year’s peak and the two-decade high last fall — and that appears to be enough to entice homeowners to refinance. Mortgage applications

By Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok on Tuesday began allowing users to create AI-generated images from text prompts and post them to X. Almost immediately, people began using the tool to flood the social media site with fake images of political figures such as former President Donald Trump

CNN By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — The backbone of America’s economy remains solid, despite a slowing job market, elevated interest rates and still-high inflation. Sales at US retailers unexpectedly surged in July, the Commerce Department said Thursday, rising by a solid 1% from the prior month, up from June’s downwardly revised 0.2% decline.

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — The backbone of America’s economy remains solid, despite a slowing job market, elevated interest rates and still-high inflation. Sales at US retailers unexpectedly surged in July, the Commerce Department said Thursday, rising by a solid 1% from the prior month, up from June’s downwardly revised 0.2% decline. That

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — Americans are cutting back on Disney parks, Big Macs and Starbucks coffee. But they keep shopping at Walmart. Walmart’s US sales at stores open for at least one year increased 4.2% last quarter and its operating income surged 8.5% during the quarter. Walmart’s US digital sales are

By Matt Egan and Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN (CNN) — Columbia University President Minouche Shafik is stepping down months after protests over the Israel-Hamas war gripped the campus, Shafik announced in a letter sent Wednesday to the Columbia community. Shafik — an Egyptian-born economist and former high-ranking official at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — If you’re a Shake Shack customer in Los Angeles, your next burger could come on a little robot with wheels. The fast casual burger chain and Serve Robotics announced a partnership Wednesday to deliver meals through autonomous delivery robots via the Uber Eats app. The robot, which

By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN New York (CNN) — Shopping around for a car? You’re in luck. Shopping around for a new auto insurance policy? Better buckle up. New, used and even rental car prices continue to slide while car insurance rates remain vastly elevated. That diverging trend seems counterintuitive: If the price tag for a

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — LL Flooring, formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, has filed for bankruptcy and will close 94 of its stores across the United States. But the retailer is not liquidating itself immediately, as the company recently announced that it had entered Chapter 11, which allows for a re-organization rather

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Americans aren’t getting their Big Mac fix at McDonald’s anymore. They’re going to Chili’s instead. Brinker International, Chili’s parent company, reported a nearly 15% in jump in same-store sales and increase of almost 6% in traffic for the most recent quarter thanks in part to a promotion