29 January 2026 As the pandemic receded from daily headlines, many of the nation’s most powerful companies carried forward an unprecedented appetite for hiring that became a defining feature of the early 2020s. At a time when economic activity surged and demand outstripped supply in sectors ranging from e-commerce to logistics, employers opened their checkbooks and recruited aggressively to staff up for a future they expected would be both fast-growing and stable. In hindsigh

24 January 2026 RACHEL WISNIEWSKI / Credit: REUTERS January 2026 brought a muted but steady signal from the United States private sector, with business activity holding its ground even as cost pressures and labor market uncertainty weighed on confidence. According to the S&P Global flash Composite PMI, the gauge that tracks overall manufacturing and services sector activity edged down slightly to 52.8 from December’s 52.7, remaining above the expansion threshold but underscor

23 January 2026 In a move that could reshape the digital landscape and forestall one of the most consequential technology clashes between Washington and Beijing in years, TikTok has clinched a deal to establish a majority American-owned joint venture that will allow the wildly popular platform to continue operating in the United States. The agreement, finalized on January 22, 2026, marks a dramatic turn in a saga that has seen the short-video app face relentless political scr

15 January 2026 Shutterstock BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, reported strong fourth-quarter financial results for 2025, driven by robust inflows into exchange-traded funds and growing demand for low-cost index products, underscoring the firm’s central role in global asset management and investor preference for diversified, fee-efficient strategies. In announcing its results on January 15, BlackRock said its adjusted earnings climbed to $2.18 billion for the quar

14 January 2026 Signage at the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York, US, on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. Credit : Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Saks Global, the American luxury retail conglomerate behind iconic department store names like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 14, 2026, culminating in one of the most significant retail failures in the United States in years. The move came after a turbulent

6 January 2026 Chinese toymaker Pop Mart is stepping up its global expansion efforts by broadening its supply chain footprint with new manufacturing partners in Mexico, Cambodia and Indonesia, a strategic shift designed to meet surging international demand for its collectible toys and strengthen its ability to serve markets far beyond East Asia. The company, best known for its “blind box” collectibles featuring characters such as the popular Labubu figure, said the expanded p

5 January 2026 Getty Images/iStockphoto On January 5, 2026 investors around the world found themselves captivated by a dramatic shift unfolding in the semiconductor industry as shares of leading memory chip manufacturers climbed sharply on hopes that a global supply shortage will continue to push prices higher and sustain robust profit margins into the coming years, a development that has quickly turned what was once a cyclical and unpredictable corner of technology markets i

2 January 2026 Tesla logo is seen in this illustration taken July 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ Tesla’s performance in Europe at the close of 2025 drew a stark contrast that underscores both the challenges and uneven opportunities facing the electric-vehicle maker as it navigates a rapidly evolving market, with registrations of its cars slumping dramatically in major markets such as France and Sweden while surging to record levels in Norway, creating a narrative

25 December 2025 China has publicly urged companies at the center of a high-profile deal over TikTok’s U.S. operations to pursue outcomes that are lawful, balanced and respectful of Chinese regulations as negotiations accelerate toward a potential resolution of years of uncertainty for the wildly popular social media platform. The comments, made by a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce at a regular press briefing in Beijing, reflect Beijing’s cautious yet pragmatic appr

23 December 2025 Retailers across the United States are closing in on a solid holiday season, with preliminary data from Visa and Mastercard showing that U.S. holiday retail sales climbed roughly 4 percent in 2025 compared with the same period last year, a performance that reflects both resilient consumer demand and changing purchasing habits as Americans navigated a complex economic backdrop. The figures, drawn from billions of transactions across the two major payment netwo

22 December 2025 In a significant step toward closing a long-standing environmental and legal saga, Mercedes-Benz has agreed to a $149.6 million settlement with a coalition of 48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to resolve allegations that it installed software in diesel vehicles that concealed excessive pollution levels during real-world driving conditions. The accord, announced on December 22, 2025, effectively ends the remaining states’ civil claims ar

21 December 2025 SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Alphabet’s Google has issued an unusual and urgent warning to some of its employees holding U.S. work visas, advising them to think twice about international travel because of severe delays in visa processing at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world. The guidance, shared internally by the company’s outside immigration counsel, BAL Immigration Law, comes amid an expanding backlog that in some cases could leave

19 December 2025 Visa and Mastercard, two of the largest payment card networks in the world, have reached a proposed settlement to resolve a lengthy U.S. class-action lawsuit that accused them of conspiring to keep ATM access fees artificially high for consumers for nearly two decades. The deal, filed on December 18, 2025 in federal court in Washington, D.C., would see the companies jointly contribute $167.5 million to compensate people who paid unreimbursed access fees when

13 December 2025 SpaceX logo and Elon Musk silhouette are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Space Exploration Technologies Corp, better known as SpaceX, has once again captured the attention of global investors and financial markets by authorizing an insider share sale that places a preliminary valuation of approximately $800 billion on the company as it prepares for a potential initial public offering in 2026, according to mu

13 December 2025 Copper, long prized for its unmatched electrical conductivity and versatility, is experiencing one of the most dramatic price rallies in its history as 2025 draws to a close. The industrial metal, essential for everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy grids and the sprawling data centres that power artificial intelligence, has climbed about 35 percent this year toward the psychologically significant mark of $12,000 per metric ton. This year’s gai

08 December 2025 In a dramatic new twist to one of the most closely watched bidding wars in Hollywood history, Paramount Skydance launched a hostile all-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery worth approximately $108.4 billion. The offer arrives just days after a competing deal saw Netflix win initial approval to acquire key Warner Bros studios and streaming assets, a $72 billion agreement that many assumed would end the bidding process. Paramount’s proposal stands at $30 per sh

26 November 2025 As artificial intelligence gains traction, American retailers are racing not just to chase consumers but to be discovered by AI. As chatbots and generative-AI assistants increasingly influence how people shop, retailers are shifting their digital strategy from obvious ads and search to building content that these AI systems can surface and recommend. Despite most holiday-season spending still flowing through traditional website visits and search ads, platform

1 November 2025 Retailers across the United States are grappling with an unexpected operational headache following the decision to cease production of the US one-cent coin. With official minting halted earlier this year, convenience stores, gas stations, fast-food chains and major retailers are finding themselves short on pennies forcing them to reframe how they accept cash and manage change. The shortage stems from a directive by Donald Trump issued in February that instruct

4 September 2025 Limitless Visions - stock.adobe The rising specter of artificial intelligence has been casting shadows across boardrooms and labor markets for years now. When businesses in the New York-Northern New Jersey region began reporting sharply increased use of AI, anxiety over mass job displacement quietly spread like wildfire. Yet when the Federal Reserve Bank of New York pulled back the curtain on its latest regional business survey, it revealed a far less dramati

1 July 2025 Photo: Chime/X Nasdaq asserted its dominance in the U.S. capital markets during the first half of 2025, outpacing the New...