By Nathalie Voit Walmart released its financial results for the first quarter on May 17, sending shares of the stock tumbling more than 11% on Tuesday. The discounter reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.30 for the three months ending April 30, 18 cents lower than the Refinitiv consensus estimate. Net income for the quarter dropped to [...]
By Nathalie Voit Uber is rolling out a new electric vehicle option on its platform so environmentally conscious consumers can order zero-emission rides from the company, Uber said in an announcement on May 16. Uber Comfort Electric, the company’s latest “climate” solution, will roll out this week in some California cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and [...]
By Nathalie Voit The Biden-Harris administration is introducing new measures to ease the U.S. housing supply crisis, according to remarks from the White House issued on May 16. "This is the most comprehensive of all government efforts" to close the U.S. housing supply shortfall, the administration said on Monday. The impacts are particularly harsh on low- and [...]
By Nathalie Voit Ongoing inflation and a return to in-store shopping mean bad news for many e-commerce retailers. According to a Mastercard SpendingPulse report published on May 12, total retail sales nationwide accelerated 7.2% from 2021. Despite the higher levels of consumer spending, e-commerce sales fell 1.8% over the year, while in-store sales grew 10%. [...]
By Nathalie Voit The U.S. baby formula shortage that has left millions of parents in crisis mode should be easing in the coming weeks, said Commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dr. Robert Califf on May 13. “FDA is working closely w/ our federal government partners to safely bring as much infant formula [...]
By Nathalie Voit Airbnb launched a massive redesign of its platform on Wednesday that the company is touting as its “biggest change in a decade.” A new way to search, a “split-stay” feature that enables users to split their stay between two homes, and a free insurance policy for guests are among the new features [...]
By Nathalie Voit Inflation in April decelerated from its 8.5% pace in March. However, the Labor Department said prices still remain near a 40-year high. Prices for goods and services surged 8.3% from one year ago. The department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said the Consumer Price Index increased 0.3% after advancing 1.2% in March. April’s [...]
By Nathalie Voit High airfare costs have prompted Americans to spend less on domestic air travel, data from Adobe Digital Insights published May 12 found. In a report, Adobe said that spending on U.S. air travel fell 13% last month from $8.8 billion in March as April airline bookings declined 17%. Overall, consumers spent $1 [...]
By Nathalie Voit Consumers’ outlook on inflation slowly improved in the short-run but showed no signs of abating on a long-term basis, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations. Median one-year ahead inflation expectations fell in April to 6.3% from 6.6% in March. In contrast, median inflation [...]
By Nathalie Voit Prices at the pump hit a new all-time high this week, transportation analytics firm AAA reported. The national average for a regular gallon of gasoline is $4.40 as of May 11. The figure broke the previous record of $4.11 set in July of 2008. However, the numbers are unadjusted for inflation, meaning [...]
© 2021 Consumers Bulletin, All Rights Reserved.