Today’s news briefs include China banning foreign adoptions; Volvo abandoning electric car goal; and US airlines srutinized over their frequent flyer programs. Government questions airlines over loyalty programs The four largest U.S. ...
Read More »Tractor Supply Co. ends DEI after customer complaints
Tractor Supply Co. has joined a growing list of businesses that are abandoning racially charged business practices because of customer backlash. The retailer recently announced that moving forward, it will “ensure our activities ...
Read More »Entertainment consumers say media pushes stereotypes of religion
A staggaring 80% of entertainment consumers would like to see fewer religious stereotypes and more faith-based movies, according to a HarrisX poll conducted in collaboration with the Faith & Media Initiative. The ...
Read More »Business bankruptcies highest in 13 years
Corporate bankruptcies in the United States this spring, based on the latest reports, with the first five months of 2023 seeing the highest number of filings since 2010. Filings from Serta Bedding ...
Read More »The coming death of cable news
For more than a quarter-century, we’ve been hearing predictions about the demise of cable—and with it, cable news. A Pew Research article from 2000 showed the trends began more than 30 years ago, when ...
Read More »Technology pressures consumers to tip at self-checkout
Families squeezed by high inflation now are being asked to leave a tip even at many self-checkout kiosks. Many companies, including airports, bakeries, coffee shops and sports stadiums, have now introduced the ...
Read More »Big banks and likely their customers will pay billions for bank failures
American consumers will likely bear the burden of billions in additional banking fees as the federal government charges banks to replenish the deposit insurance fund. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced ...
Read More »Heating costs to soar this winter
Families already dealing with record inflation likely will face soaring heating costs as well this winter. The news comes as President Biden was criticized for saying energy companies can just lower prices ...
Read More »Germans panic buying electric heaters as winter gas shortage looms
Typically stoic Germans are rushing stores in an attempt to purchase electric heaters ahead of winter. The panic buying comes as German authorities issue apocalyptic warnings about shortages of natural gas as ...
Read More »Chick-fil-A still America’s favorite restaurant
Chick-fil-A once again is the nation’s favorite restaurant. It topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index for the eighth consecutive year. Chick-fil-A was quick to thank its customers for the honor. “We are ...
Read More »Exxon responds to Biden letter that threatens “emergency powers”
Exxon Mobil fired back at President Joe Biden who has moved from blaming Vladimir Putin to now blaming U.S. energy producers for soaring gas prices. The White House is now threatening to use ...
Read More »Gas up 50% from last Memorial Day
The national average for a gas on Memorial Day is $4.61, up from $3.04 from 2021. That’s more than a 50% increase. Motorists traveling over this holiday weekend are finding themselves digging ...
Read More »USDA expects food prices to increase by 5 percent this year
With warm weather on the way, families may want to think about growing some of their own food. Prices are expected to rise by 5 percent this year. That would be the ...
Read More »Facebook is ‘worst company of 2021’ according to survey
There may be another reason Facebook changed its name to Meta. The social media company is the “the worst company of 2021” in the results of an audience survey conducted by Yahoo Finance. The poll, ...
Read More »Dollar Tree not exactly a dollar in response to inflation crisis
Dollar Tree is the latest retailer to change its business practices in response to what’s becoming known as the “Biden Inflation Crisis”. The popular store, which until now only sold $1 items, ...
Read More »Would you eat ‘upcycled’ food?
How would you like to dig into a “recycled” snack? Or take a swig of juice with “reprocessed” ingredients made from other food byproducts? Without the right marketing, these don’t sound like ...
Read More »Gas prices highest since 2014
If you are traveling for Independence Day, you’ll pay the highest rate for gas in seven years. To make matters worse, experts say there’s no end in sight for rising prices. The ...
Read More »Inflation in May matches that of the Great Recession
U.S. inflation is now at its highest level since the Great Recession of 2008. The Labor Department released additional data on Thursday showing that prices for May rose 5 percent from a year ...
Read More »Consumers tire as corporations insert ‘woke’ politics into all aspects of life
Corporate America, once worried about offending customers and losing sales, now is “woke.” Woke means self-righteous awareness of alleged social or political injustice. Sometimes that injustice is real, but sometimes it’s just ...
Read More »Consumers, ratings and politics: research finds connection
Customers give higher ratings and tips to politically conservative Airbnb hosts, Uber drivers and waiters than to ones with more liberal leanings, according to new peer-reviewed research I co-authored. That’s despite evidence ...
Read More »Governor warns of price gouging in wake of arctic blast
Many Americans are concerned about large increases in the price of natural gas after multiple snowstorms and subzero temperatures in recent weeks. In Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson is addressing the shortage and ...
Read More »Judge temporarily blocks ban of Communist-owned TikTok app
A federal district judge has temporarily blocked the ban on Chinese Communist Party-owned TikTok. The injunction allows the app to remain available for download from U.S. app stores. U.S. intelligence services say ...
Read More »Walmart will be closed on Thanksgiving this year
Walmart announced on Tuesday it will close all of its stores on Thanksgiving this year. The move shocked retail analysts who point to a trend in recent years in which Black Friday ...
Read More »Walmart to launch service to compete with Amazon Prime
Walmart will reportedly go head-to-head with Amazon Prime and launch its new subscription service, Walmart+. It will debut later in July. For $98 a year, subscribers will get features such as same-day ...
Read More »Democrats pass law stripping employees of many arbitration rights
Have Democrats killed arbitration? The House of Representatives just passed a bill that would make it harder and more expensive, even impossible, for Americans to resolve conflicts with their employers. The Forced ...
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