Latest Retail and wholesale News
Richmond Fed president urges caution on interest rate cuts because inflation isn't defeated
WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of the Federal Reserve's Richmond branch says he supports reducing the central bank's key interest rate “somewhat” from its current level but isn't yet ready for the Fed to fully take its foot off the economy's brakes. In an interview Thursday...
Google expert at antitrust trial says government underestimates competition for online ad dollars
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Federal regulators who say Google holds an illegal monopoly over the technology that matches online advertisers to publishers are vastly underestimating the competition the tech giant faces, an expert hired by Google testified Thursday. Mark Israel, an...
Halloween superfans see the culture catching up to them. (A 12-foot skeleton helped)
Home Depot was about to launch something big — really big — when the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020: a 12-foot skeleton. “There were a lot of internal discussions. It was like, is there going to be Halloween this year?” said Lance Allen, senior merchant of decorative...
Concerns linger after gunfire damages Arizona Democratic campaign office
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Police were posted outside a Democratic Party campaign office in a quiet suburban strip mall in the Phoenix area Wednesday after two shootings at the office door and windows over the past week. Tempe police have yet to identify suspects or a motive, but...
Shein faces scrutiny in Italy over possible greenwashing
Italy’s antitrust watchdog is investigating the online fast fashion giant Shein for potentially making misleading claims about its sustainability practices. The country’s independent competition authority said in a statement that the greenwashing probe would focus on Infinite...
The price of gold keeps climbing to unprecedented heights. Here's why
NEW YORK (AP) — The rush for gold just keeps coming. Gold hit another all time high this week. Recent gains for the precious metal are largely credited to ongoing economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and strong demand from central banks around the world. If...
CrowdStrike executive apologizes to Congress for July global tech outage
WASHINGTON (AP) — An executive at cybersecurity company CrowdStrike apologized in testimony to Congress for sparking a global technology outage over the summer. “We let our customers down,” said Adam Meyers, who leads CrowdStrike's threat intelligence division, in a hearing...
US Treasury sanctions a chain of ice cream shops and a pharmacy tied to the Sinaloa Cartel
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday said it sanctioned two Mexican businesses — an ice cream chain and a local pharmacy — for allegedly using proceeds of fentanyl trafficking to finance their operations tied to the Sinaloa cartel. Treasury’s Office of...
Kmart's blue light fades to black with the shuttering of its last full-scale US store
NEW YORK (AP) — Attention, Kmart shoppers, the end is near! The erstwhile retail giant renowned for its Blue Light Specials — featuring a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole enticing shoppers to a flash sale — is shuttering its last full-scale store in the mainland United...
Vista, Blackstone buying software maker Smartsheet for about $8.4 billion
Private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Blackstone are buying software maker Smartsheet for approximately $8.4 billion in cash. Vista and Blackstone said Tuesday that they will pay $56.50 per Smartsheet Inc. share. The agreement includes a 45-day “go-shop” period during...
