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Millionaires Multiply Across The US, But Most Find It’s Not All Mansions And Champagne

NEW YORK (AP) — As a child, Heidi Barley watched her family pay for groceries with food stamps. As a college student, she dropped out because she couldn’t afford tuition. In her twenties, already scraping by, she was forced to take a pay cut that shrunk her salary to just $34,000 a year. But this summer, the 41-year-old hit a milestone that long felt out of reach: She became a millionaire. A surging number of everyday Americans now boast a seven-figure net worth once the domain of celebrities and CEOs. But as the ranks of millionaires grow fatter, the significance of the status ...

Starbucks Looks To Protein Drinks And Other New Products To Turn Around Lagging Sales

Starbucks said Tuesday it’s confident that new products coming next year -- including a cold foam protein drink, coconut water-based beverages and improved baked goods -- will help turn around the company’s lagging U.S. sales. In the meantime, slow U.S. demand continues to be a drag on the company’s results. Starbucks reported that its revenue rose 4% to $9.5 billion in its fiscal third quarter. That was better than the $9.3 billion Wall Street expected, according to analysts polled by FactSet. But same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 2% in the ...

Online Enthusiasm For A Beaten Down Company With Doubtful Prospects

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors occasionally scoop up shares of companies whose financial prospects appear dim. The consensus around such companies is that the shares should, if anything, fall further. But they suddenly get touted in online forums and take off for no fundamental reason. Wall Street has dubbed them “meme stocks.” Here are some characteristics of meme stocks: POOR GROWTH PROSPECTS Meme stock investors typically look for companies with poor financials that are unlikely to grow much in coming years. This could be due to a number of factors, such as an outdated ...

Is AI Causing Tech Worker Layoffs? That’s What CEOs Suggest, But Reality Is Complicated

If you read the typical 2025 mass layoff notice from a tech industry CEO, you might think that artificial intelligence cost workers their jobs. The reality is more complicated, with companies trying to signal to Wall Street that they’re making themselves more efficient as they prepare for broader changes wrought by AI. A new report Wednesday from career website Indeed says tech job postings in July were down 36% from their early 2020 levels, with AI one but not the most obvious factor in stalling a rebound. ChatGPT’s debut in late 2022 also corresponded with the end of a ...

Less Selection, Higher Prices

NEW YORK (AP) — With summer in full swing in the United States, retail executives are sweating a different season. It’s less than 22 weeks before Christmas, a time when businesses that make and sell consumer goods usually nail down their holiday orders and prices. But President Donald ...

Labor Department Proposes Workplace Rule Changes

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Labor is aiming to rewrite or repeal more than 60 “obsolete” workplace regulations, ranging from minimum wage requirements for home health care workers and people with disabilities to standards governing exposure to harmful substances. If ...