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☆ Consumers are stressed. It could be showing in how we bought toys in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Consumers bought fewer toys in all of 2023, including during the key Christmas toy-buying period, showing that households continue to pare back on discretionary products. But toy sales in all of 2023 dropped 8%, both in dollar terms (how much consumers paid for toys) and in unit sales (meaning how many toys consumers bought). This shows that shoppers bought fewer toys but also traded down in prices to cheaper toys. “While 2023 was a challenging year for the U.S. toy industry, the four-year compound annual growth rate remains positive,” she said. Among the toys that consumers did buy in 2023, Pokémon, Barbie and Squishmallows were the top three best-selling brands last year, according to Circana.

Persons: pare, Circana, ”, Juli Lennett, Lennett, I’ve, “, ” Lennett, ” Jon Copestake, EY, ” Copestake, ” Robby Pettinato, Joy, ” Pettinato, Toy Joy, “ Anecdotally, “ That’s, it’s, Pettinato, Barbie, Squishmallows, Price, Melissa, Doug, – CNN’s Alicia Wallace, Katie Lobosco Organizations: New, New York CNN — Consumers, Commerce Department, Hasbro, Wild, Inc, CNN, ”, Star, Marvel, Disney Locations: New York, United States, U.S, Austin

☆ Why the NFL went all in on sports gambling
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

On Sunday, the NFL will hold its first Super Bowl in Las Vegas, a city built on gambling. Even in 2003, gambling was as much a part of the NFL as tailgating, helmets and shoulder pads. Yet the change in the league’s relationship with sports gambling couldn’t be more obvious as it prepares for its first Super Bowl in Sin City. That direct spending is only part of the way the NFL has learned to profit from legalized gambling. The column came four years before the Supreme Court opened the door for legal sports gambling.

Persons: ”, Victor Matheson, ” Matheson, Jeff Miller, Bud, Miller, “, Andrew Zimbalist, ” Zimbalist, Adam Silver, it’s, Zimbalist, ” CNN’s Alicia Wallace Organizations: New, New York CNN, National Football League, Super, Las Vegas Convention, Visitors Authority, NFL, College of, Gambling, Sports, Super Bowl, Caesars Entertainment, American Gaming Association, Smith College, New York Times, NBA, of Columbia Locations: New York, Las Vegas, Sin City, Nevada, ”, California, Texas

☆ Wings, shrimp and booze: Super Bowl party hosts budget carefully this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Parija Bhatnagar | Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“The only time I use my grill that’s outside on my deck is for my Super Bowl party,” said Steward, in an interview with CNN. Tricks to manage the costThis year is the 26th year that San Francisco resident Amy Larson and her husband are throwing their Super Bowl party. “Super Bowl every year is my excuse to make him tailgating food, in particular hot wings,” she said. Over the years, Larson has perfected a few tricks to manage her Super Bowl food budget. “I also usually buy spirits and other drinks but I’m not sure about that either because of the higher prices,” Steward said.

Persons: Tod Steward, He’s, It’s, ”, Steward, Steward hasn’t, “, haven’t, that’s, ” Tod Stewart, Tod Steward There’s, Debbie Downer, ” Michael Swanson, Swanson, ” Swanson, Amy Larson, Larson, Amy Larson's, Amy Larson “, ” Larson, he’s, ” Steward, –, Alicia Wallace Organizations: New, New York CNN, Super Bowl, CNN, Wells Fargo, San, Bowl, Super Locations: New York, Seattle, Wells, San Francisco, Bay

☆ The holiday spending spree is fueled by ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ shoppers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The Black Friday and Cyber Monday billion-dollar US spending spree was fueled by “Buy Now, Pay Later” shoppers. On Cyber Monday, Buy Now, Pay Later purchases hit an all-time high, up 43% from a year ago, according to Adobe Analytics. The number of items per order also rose 11% annually as shoppers used Buy Now, Pay Later for larger purchases. Consumers risk stacking on debt they can’t pay off with Buy Now, Pay Later purchases, financial researchers say. While Buy Now, Pay Later was initially designed to help shoppers pay for big-ticket purchases, consumers are increasingly using these services to buy groceries and everyday necessities, research shows.

Persons: CNN’s Alicia Wallace Organizations: New, New York CNN, Adobe Analytics, New York Federal, Federal Reserve Bank of New Locations: New York

☆ Americans are shopping less. But the US economic engine is still humming
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

That’s important, because Americans’ spending on goods and services accounts for two-thirds of US gross domestic product. Historically, sluggish retail sales, credit card delinquency and even shoplifting have been signs of a dark cloud on the horizon. The question of credit card debt is another area where the nuance matters. And as a share of total credit card debt, it is relatively low. But Americans’ credit card debt is unquestionably rising.

Persons: CNN Business ’, New York CNN —, Macy’s, they’ve, Taylor Swift, Barbie, ”, Ubers, Covid, Taylor, Sarah Yenesel, Chris Rupkey, Leticia Miranda, That’s, TJ Maxx, Louis Navellier, they’re, Brett Ryan, —, Alicia Wallace, you’ll Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Nike, FwdBonds, Atlanta Federal Reserve, “, “ Retailers, Deutsche Bank, Walmart, Amazon, Federal Reserve, Bank of America Locations: New York

☆ American consumers are growing worried about a US debt default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“If policymakers fail to resolve the debt ceiling crisis, these dismal views over the economy will exacerbate the dire economic consequences of default.”The latest survey showed that the university’s consumer-sentiment index fell by 9% in May. Monthly household spending growth tumbled to 5.4% from a revised 7.1% in December, according to the New York Fed’s Household Spending Survey, which is fielded every four months. Michigan’s report showed US household spending was flat in March from the prior month, after limping just 0.1% in February. Stack on top of that the Federal Reserve’s punishing interest-rate increases and still-high inflation, and consumers might just tap out. The Conference Board’s sentiment survey showed that consumer confidence worsened in April as Americans became more worried about the jobs market.

☆ Fact-checking Trump’s CNN town hall in New Hampshire
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +26 min

CNN —CNN hosted a town hall with 2024 Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday night in New Hampshire. 2020 ElectionJust minutes after the town hall began, Trump claimed the 2020 election was “rigged.”Facts First: This is Trump’s regular lie. Trump claimed Wednesday that he got gas prices down to $1.87 – and “even lower” – but they increased to $7, $8 or even $9 under Biden. The Presidential Records Act says that the moment a president leaves office, the National Archives and Records Administration gets legal custody and control of all presidential records from his administration. First, there’s no provision for negotiating over Presidential records at the end of a term.

☆ 2023 layoff tracker: The latest on which companies have announced job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

New York CNN —BuzzFeed, Lyft, Whole Foods and Deloitte all recently announced layoffs affecting thousands of US workers. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced in March, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%. The company announced in January that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid at the e-commerce giant. IndeedJob listing website Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March. The cuts come after the company announced several rounds of job cuts throughout the pandemic due to falling demand, followed by rapid hiring last year.

☆ Premarket stocks: Why the Fed is increasingly flying blind on the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But lately, some economists have begun to worry that the data on which Fed officials rely is becoming increasingly inaccurate. That causes more volatility in the incoming data and hence more volatility in markets, economists say. To what extent are declining response rates to surveys actually impacting the data we use? It is absolutely critical for the Fed and markets that the incoming data is as reliable as possible. Those earnings reached what Buffett called a “record” — $30.8 billion in 2022, topping the $27.5 billion in the prior year.

☆ Janet Yellen: Strong job growth shows recession probability is low
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that the probability of a US recession this year is low as she touted job growth and low unemployment on the eve of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. “You don’t have a recession when you have 500,000 jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years,” Yellen said during an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America. Friday’s jobs report showed that the US economy added an whopping 517,000 jobs in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate ticked down a tenth of a percentage point to 3.4% — the lowest jobless rate since May 1969. “What I see is a path in which inflation is declining significantly, and the economy is remaining strong,” Yellen said on GMA.

☆ Inflation cooling is good economic news. It might not feel like it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Stocks, which had risen on the “inflation is cooling” news Tuesday, were down Wednesday on the “Fed is not convinced” development. GOP leader Kevin McCarthy is trying to find the votes to become speaker, and adding a spending fight to his plate would get messy quickly. But the spending fight loomsNone of the disagreements over spending are going away. Inflation moved the electionThe difference between 7.1% month-over-month inflation and 7.7% inflation in October may not feel like much on the micro level to Americans who are paying 49% more for eggs this year than they were last year. “In the coming decade, they’re going to be fighting hard to get inflation down.”In the meantime, cooling inflation might be praised by policymakers, but it could rub everyone else the wrong way, especially if an economic slowdown starts to feel like a recession.

☆ Yellen sees her signature printed on US bills for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Betsy Klein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Yellen became the latest Treasury secretary to sign US currency and the first woman Treasury secretary to have her signature on a US banknote. It’s been tradition for more than a century that both the US treasurer and the Treasury secretary sign currency to make the bills legal tender. The newly printed bills feature the signatures of “Lynn Roberge Malerba” and “Janet L. Yellen,” both written in clear, legible script. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Treasury Chief Lynn Malerba sign banknotes. Currency, Yellen said, “plays a critical role in our economy” but also “has a deeper social purpose.”“Currency is something we use and we touch every day.

☆ Inflation is so high, even Snoop Dogg’s blunt roller got a raise
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-11 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

New York CNN Business —Inflation is hitting everyone hard – even Snoop Dogg. On Tuesday, the rapper tweeted that even his professional blunt roller got a raise. “Inflation,” Snoop Dogg tweeted in response to a post by UberFacts, which said his full-time blunt roller makes between $40,000 to $50,000 a year. “On his resume it says, ‘what do you do?’ ‘I’m a blunt roller.’ P-B-R, professional blunt roller.”It’s a coveted job – in 2021, Snoop Dogg said he has 81 smoke breaks a day on Reddit. But good news for Snoop Dogg – despite surging prices, the price of cannabis hasn’t faced the same sticker shock.

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