Author: News Room

DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch is in Miami Beach at the FII Priority conference, where President Trump floated the idea of sending Americans a dividend or refund check from money saved by DOGE rather than use all of it to pay down the debt. More below.Separately, since you may read about this elsewhere, I thought I’d share with you a secret I’ve been keeping: For the past eight years, I’ve been working on a follow-up to my book, “Too Big to Fail.” I’ve written what I think of as a prequel: a nonfiction, character-driven, behind-the-scenes account of 1929, the year of the…

Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, said on Thursday that strong holiday sales propelled its revenue to another annual record but flagged a weaker-than-expected forecast for growth this year, as shoppers face challenges like stubborn inflation, the uncertain impact of tariffs and a potential rise in unemployment.Walmart said sales rose to $681 billion in its latest fiscal year, which runs through January, a 5.1 percent increase from the year before. The retailer’s annual profit jumped faster than sales, to around $20 billion.The crucial holiday shopping season was a strong one for the retailer, with more people visiting stores…

Last August, a hotel room in Europe priced at 200 euros was about $224. Today, travelers spending American dollars would pay only $208.On the rise since last autumn, the dollar is strong compared with a number of foreign currencies, including the euro, the Japanese yen and the Canadian dollar. And President Trump’s tariff threat is only making it stronger.For travelers, the exchange rate bonus makes trips abroad extra appealing.“We’ve seen an increase in international bookings as travelers look to maximize the value of their dollar abroad,” said Michael Johnson, the president of Ensemble, a travel agency consortium. “The strength of…

American manufacturing has been in the doldrums for years, battered by high borrowing costs and a strong dollar, which makes exports less competitive. But there has been a bright spot: billions of dollars flowing into factory construction, signifying that a potential rebound in production and employment is around the corner.The flood of investment has been driven by two major categories of subsidies provided under the Biden administration. One offered incentives for the construction of several enormous semiconductor plants set to begin operation in the coming years. The other supercharged the production of equipment needed for renewable energy deployment.This second category…

Delta Air Lines said on Wednesday that it was offering $30,000 to each passenger who was aboard the flight from Minneapolis that crashed and flipped upside down this week while trying to land in Toronto.All 80 people — 76 passengers and four crew members — who were on Delta Flight 4819 survived after the jet made a rough landing and rolled over, ending belly-up with its right wing sheared off at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday.Of the 21 passengers who were taken to hospitals, all but one had been released by Wednesday morning, Delta said. None of the passengers…

Anyone who has sat through a third-grade science class knows there are three primary states of matter: solid, liquid and gas.Microsoft now says it has created a new state of matter in its quest to make a powerful machine, called a quantum computer, that could accelerate the development of everything from batteries to medicines to artificial intelligence.On Wednesday, Microsoft’s scientists said they had built what is known as a “topological qubit” based on this new phase of physical existence, which could be harnessed to solve mathematical, scientific and technological problems.With the development, Microsoft is raising the stakes in what is…

The Trump administration is facing pressure to protect the Federal Aviation Administration from further layoffs after hundreds of workers were fired over the weekend.The job cuts were part of a government restructuring under Elon Musk, an adviser to President Trump who is heading a cost-cutting initiative.Mr. Musk’s team has helped push through layoffs of thousands of workers across the government, including at the Transportation Department. But at the same time, the department’s secretary, Sean Duffy, has asked Mr. Musk, whose companies span the sectors of technology and transportation, to aid in addressing the agency’s aging air traffic control technology.The firings…

President Trump recently ordered the U.S. Mint to stop producing pennies, for a simple-sounding reason. Each penny, he said, has “literally cost us more than 2 cents.”He’s right. Since 2006, the government has spent more money minting pennies than those pennies have been worth.The production costs of coins can be confusing. A nickel is worth half as much as a dime but costs twice as much to mint. A penny, which used to cost less than 1 cent to make, now costs 3.7. In 2011, a quarter was cheaper to make than a nickel; today the two coins cost about…

Since 2023, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor nominated by President Trump to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has been a high-priced pitchman for iHerb, a California supplement retailer.He has aggressively promoted iHerb products on social media, recommending supplements that he says will stimulate hair growth and provide smoother skin. Olive oil, which iHerb sells, he said, “might be able to actually help with Alzheimer’s.”It turns out Dr. Oz is also a sizable investor in the supplement company, according to filings released on Wednesday by the Office of Government Ethics.Dr. Oz pledged to sell the vast majority…

President Trump’s pick as labor secretary faced pointed questions from both parties at her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday over her past support for pro-union legislation, an issue that could complicate her nomination.The nominee, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican congresswoman, was pressed repeatedly about her stand on the PRO Act — a sweeping labor bill that sought to strengthen collective bargaining rights. She was a co-sponsor of the measure, a top Democratic priority that has yet to win passage, and one of few Republicans to back it.Asked if she continued to support it, Ms. Chavez-DeRemer demurred, saying she was no…