Money

By Bryan Mena, CNN Washington (CNN) — American shoppers pulled back on their spending last month for the first time since August as stubborn inflation continued to bite and harsh weather curbed economic activity. Retail sales plunged 0.9% in January from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Friday. That’s down sharply from December’s upwardly

By Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN New York (CNN) — Half a billion straws are used in the United States every day, according to a popular — but perhaps not the most scientific — estimate. The biggest buyer: the federal government, which buys more straws than any other group in the US. Straws are used in national

By Lisa Eadicicco, CNN (CNN) — DeepSeek turned the tech world on its head last month – and for good reason, according to artificial intelligence experts, who say we’re likely only seeing the beginning of the Chinese tech startup’s influence on the AI field. DeepSeek grabbed headlines in late January with its R1 AI model,

By Samantha Delouya, CNN (CNN) — Most people who live alone know they’re paying a premium compared to their friends who split rent with partners or roommates. But in no city is this “singles tax” more expensive than in New York City. In the city that never sleeps, singles pay an average of $20,100 more

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN New York (CNN) — Missouri sued Starbucks this week, alleging the chain’s push to hire and promote more people of color and women violated anti-discrimination laws and slowed down coffee orders. The lawsuit, filed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, opens up a new legal front in the war

By John Liu, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Chinese internet search giant Baidu will make its advanced AI chatbot services free, as competition heats up among global developers following the surging popularity of startup DeepSeek’s models. Ernie Bot, the Beijing-based company’s AI chatbot with premium features like AI painting, will be available to both mobile

By Ramishah Maruf and Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — Google Play said it restored TikTok to the US app store on Thursday, following promises by President Donald Trump to save the app and an executive action delaying the enactment of a ban on the wildly popular social media platform. Bloomberg and CNBC also

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — Americans are having a harder time managing rising debt burdens and in some cases haven’t been this overextended since the aftermath of the Great Recession. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday released its latest comprehensive look at credit conditions for American households in major categories such

By Alicia Wallace, CNN (CNN) — US wholesale inflation remained stubbornly elevated last month, another sign that even higher prices could be ahead for American shoppers. The Producer Price Index, a measurement of average price changes seen by producers and manufacturers, rose 0.4% on a monthly basis and 3.5% for the 12 months ended in

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Denny’s is closing about 30 more restaurants than previously announced as part of the struggling diner chain’s plans to jumpstart growth. The additional closures come after Denny’s announced last year it was shutting the doors for 150 locations. In an earnings release Wednesday, the company revealed it

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Several channels owned by Paramount Global, including CBS, Comedy Central and MTV, will soon disappear from YouTube TV on Thursday if the two companies don’t reach a contract renewal. YouTube TV, owned by Alphabet, told its customers that it’s “working hard to reach a fair agreement with

By David Goldman, CNN (CNN) — Elon Musk says he is prepared to drop his attempt to buy OpenAI if the ChatGPT maker maintains its unusual current structure in which the world’s leading and most valuable AI company is operated by a nonprofit. The battle for OpenAI, which has become deeply personal as it has

By Matt Egan, CNN New York (CNN) — About a year before the subprime mortgage meltdown brought the global financial system to its knees, a Harvard Law School professor made the case for launching a new regulator to protect consumers getting ripped off by mortgages, car loans and other financial products. After the Great Financial

By Elisabeth Buchwald and David Goldman, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump doubled down on his extraordinary push for more balanced trade, ordering on Thursday that agencies should investigate plans for new reciprocal tariffs that could boost America’s revenue — but could also ignite a global trade war and add to America’s rebounding inflation problem.

CNN, POOL, TRUTH SOCIAL By Elisabeth Buchwald and David Goldman, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump doubled down on his extraordinary push for more balanced trade, ordering on Thursday that agencies should investigate plans for new reciprocal tariffs that could boost America’s revenue — but could also ignite a global trade war and add to

By John Liu, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Apple will work with Chinese tech giant Alibaba to roll out AI services in the world’s biggest market for mobile phones, in a move that removes months of uncertainty for the Cupertino-based firm. “Apple has been very selective. They talked to a number of companies in China,

By Juliana Liu and Junko Ogura, CNN Hong Kong/Tokyo (CNN) — Japan’s Nissan and Honda have ended discussions on a deal that would have created the world’s third-largest carmaker. The two companies, along with their junior partner Mitsubishi Motors, agreed to “terminate” a memorandum of understanding to join forces, Nissan said in a statement on

By Ramishah Maruf, CNN New York (CNN) — Elon Musk-owned X has agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit from his close ally President Donald Trump over Trump’s deplatforming following the January 6, 2021, insurrection, according to multiple reports that cite people familiar with the matter. After the January 6 riot, social media companies such