Buy now, pay later loans are contributing to a record-breaking holiday shopping season. Economists fear they could also obscure and exacerbate gaps in Americans’ financial well-being. Loans, which allow consumers to pay for purchases in installments, often interest-free, have become very popular due to the high prices and interest rates. Retailers have used them to … [Read more…]
Unlock Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter. Bird Global, the company that pioneered on-road electric scooter rentals, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida, five years after becoming the fastest startup ever to reach a so-called “unicorn” valuation of over $1 … [Read more…]
Among the many deals that have fallen through recently, Adobe’s $20 billion acquisition of Figma, an up-and-coming design software maker, is among the most telling. The companies had promised that it was a way to “launch a new era of collaborative creativity,” but regulators in three jurisdictions saw it as an unacceptable attempt by a … [Read more…]
The European Union on Monday announced a formal investigation into X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, over its failure to combat illegal content and disinformation, a lack of transparency in advertising and “deceptive” design practices. The investigation may be the largest regulatory action yet against According to researchers, the company’s new policies have led to … [Read more…]
Illumina, the leading maker of gene sequencing machines, said Sunday it would sell Grail, a cancer test developer it bought for $7.1 billion in 2021. The move came two days after Illumina lost its case in a federal appeals court that largely upheld a Federal Trade Commission decision that Illumina should terminate its contract with … [Read more…]
Social Security benefits were not taxed at all until 1984. Then in 1993, Bill Clinton signed a law that expanded tax thresholds and made up to 85 percent of benefits taxable for recipients with total income of more than $34,000 ($44,000 for co-filers). Anyone who earns less could have to pay tax on up to … [Read more…]
The S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.01%) is having a spectacular year. So far, it’s up 22.8% including dividends, marking a significant turnaround from 2022, when it plunged into bear market territory. In fact, the S&P 500 has only posted an annual loss 15 times since its inception in 1957. In nine of these cases, the index … [Read more…]
Stay up to date with free updates Simply sign up for the US Interest Rate myFT Digest – straight to your inbox. Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell sent his clearest signal yet on Wednesday that the U.S. central bank is finished with two years of tightening monetary policy and will begin cutting interest rates in … [Read more…]
Federal labor regulators on Wednesday accused Starbucks of illegally closing 23 stores to stifle organizing activity and trying to force the company to reopen. A complaint filed by a regional office of the National Labor Relations Board argued that Starbucks closed stores because its employees were engaging in union activities or to discourage employees from … [Read more…]
Zulily, the Seattle-based online retailer that recently announced it was going out of business, has sued its former rival Amazon – blaming Amazon’s policies that pushed retailers away from the competition. In a lawsuit filed Monday in Seattle, Zulily accused the e-commerce giant of engaging in the same anticompetitive business practices that were at the … [Read more…]