Last year, consumers shelled out big bucks for their back-to-school shopping needs, spending a record $41.5 billion, according to estimates from the National Retail Federation. That whopping tally, which amounted to more than $890 per household, bested 2021’s all-time high by roughly 12%. While higher prices sure played their part,…

Long/short strategies have had a hard time the last decade in general. Being long-only and having full exposure to the S&P 500 has clearly been the winning trade. But that’s not to say that the next 10 years couldn’t be different. I actually think there’s a lot of opportunity in…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Russian lawmakers have hit back at reports of the arrest of Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov in France for failing to adequately moderate criminal activity on his messaging platform.The Russia-born billionaire was…

Favorable views of the American flag are usually associated with the GOP. Michael Smerconish argues that patriotism, military service, and pride in the American flag were key themes at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. From hearing “USA, USA, USA!” chants and a line up of country music stars… Democrats are…

By Kelly K. James, Next Avenue During an interdepartmental Zoom meeting, a vice president asked for feedback about a video he’d produced, on a tight timeframe, to promote our company. On the video, one employee made a comment that made our company look bad. I thought she may have misspoken…

Mortgage rates dipped significantly this week, dropping to the lowest level in more than a year, according to Freddie Mac. Rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.47%, down from 6.73% last week. “Mortgage rates plunged this week to their lowest level in over a year following the likely overreaction to…

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just reported that the U.S. added 818,000 fewer jobs over the last 12 months (through March) than they previously predicted. The -0.5% difference was reported in the preliminary estimate of the annual revision to the BLS employment series. Consumers won’t know the final numbers…

An Italian prosecutor has opened a manslaughter investigation into the deaths of British tech magnate Mike Lynch and six other people who were killed when a luxury yacht sank off Sicily this week.The public prosecutor’s office of Termini Imerese, headed by Ambrogio Cartosio, announced the investigation, saying the probe was not aimed…

Lawmakers want to crack down on “junk fees,” but restaurants are trying to stay out of the fight.Surcharges or fees covering everything from credit card processing to gratuities to “inflation” have become more popular on restaurant checks in recent years.Last year, 15% of restaurant owners added surcharges or fees to…

As opening statements in the murder trial of Robert Telles began last week, the Las Vegas Review-Journal was confronted with a nightmarish question: How does a newspaper cover the trial of a suspect accused of murdering one of its own reporters? The once-unimaginable prospect is one the newspaper and its…