Author: News Room
Jordan Tkacsik was perusing his friend Paul Bartlett’s sports memorabilia and trading card shop last year when he noticed something unusual in a section full of Pokémon collectibles.It was a Cheetos cheese puff, but not just any Cheeto. Rather, it was a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto that bore an uncanny resemblance to Charizard, an orange dragon-like creature that is one of the Pokémon universe’s original and most beloved characters. The Cheeto itself was housed in a small plastic container — “It sort of looked like a travel-size Q-Tip case,” Mr. Tkacsik said — and the three-inch cheesy treat even had a…
Stocks tumbled on Thursday, adding to a string of recent losses, even after the Trump administration offered a reprieve on tariffs on Canada and Mexico.The S&P 500 dropped 1.8 percent, taking the slide for the index this week to 3.6 percent and putting it on course for its worst week since a banking crisis two years ago that felled some of the country’s small lenders.Mr. Trump had imposed tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Mexico and Canada on Tuesday. He also raised tariffs on imports from China. Investors are concerned that the tariffs — and retaliation from the other…
Dear Tripped Up,Last summer, I booked a five-day sailing trip with Tall Ship Experience, a company based in Spain. For 1,350 euros, or $1,450, I would be a volunteer on the crew of the Atlantis, sailing between two ports in Italy. But eight days before, I had a bad fall that resulted in multiple injuries, including eight stitches to my face that doctors said I could not expose to sun or water. The Tall Ship Experience website clearly states that I could cancel for a full refund up to seven days before the trip. But the company revealed it was…
About six months ago, Alex Brunet, a recent Northwestern University graduate, moved to Washington and started a new job at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as an honors paralegal. It was fitting for Mr. Brunet, 23, who said he had wanted to work in public service for as long as he could remember and help “craft an economy that works better for everyone.”But about 15 minutes before he was going to head to dinner with his girlfriend on the night before Valentine’s Day, an email landed in his inbox informing him that he would be terminated by the end of…
On the night of Feb. 21, Ben Zhou, the chief executive of the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, logged on to his computer to approve what appeared to be a routine transaction. His company was moving a large amount of Ether, a popular digital currency, from one account to another.Thirty minutes later, Mr. Zhou got a call from Bybit’s chief financial officer. In a trembling voice, the executive told Mr. Zhou that their system had been hacked.“All of the Ethereum is gone,” he said.When Mr. Zhou approved the transaction, he had inadvertently handed control of an account to hackers backed by the…
President Trump said on Thursday that he would offer a one-month exemption from tariffs for imports from Mexico that trade under the rules of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade pact he signed in his first term.The president wrote on Truth Social that he would give Mexican products an exemption until April 2 from the 25 percent tariffs that he levied on all products from Mexico and most goods from Canada earlier this week. The exemption would cover the vast majority of North American trade and follows days of turmoil in the stock markets.“After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I…
Macy’s, the largest department store in the United States, saw slightly improved sales during the holiday season, but it and other retailers have warned of a rocky year ahead as tariffs push up prices and sow uncertainty for shoppers.Macy’s said comparable sales across all of its stores, which include Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, rose 0.2 percent last quarter, its best result in nearly three years.Although a modest improvement, the result was welcomed as the retailer faces many challenges, including consumers squeezed by inflation, shrinking margins and a bizarre accounting error. Macy’s is in the midst of a turnaround plan that includes…
When the United States signed a free-trade agreement with Canada and Mexico more than 30 years ago, the premise was that partnering with two other thriving economies would also benefit America.This week, President Trump abruptly scrapped that idea. He imposed a sweeping 25 percent tariff on the roughly $1 trillion of imports that Mexico and Canada send into the United States each year as part of that North American trade pact. Those tariffs are expected to significantly raise costs for Canadian and Mexican exports, undermining their economies and likely tipping them into recession.Mr. Trump’s decision to unwind decades of economic…
Dr. Marty Makary may face sharp questions from senators about whether he will defend the Food and Drug Administration against staff cutbacks and industry pressure on Thursday, although he is still expected to sail through his confirmation hearing to become the agency’s commissioner.Dr. Makary built his reputation as a contrarian in the medical field, gaining widespread notice by speaking out about medical errors. Those close to him have remarked on his willingness to agree with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, on a variety of issues.As a pancreatic cancer surgeon and health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins University,…
The European Central Bank lowered interest rates on Thursday, the sixth consecutive cut, as the economic landscape for the region rapidly changes.The bank’s key rate was cut by a quarter point to 2.5 percent, which was widely expected as inflation in the region has stayed relatively low and economic growth has been weak.But the future path of interest rates has become increasingly uncertain as policymakers face a seismic shift in Europe. In the past few days, European leaders have vowed to increase military spending by hundreds of billions of euros as they are no longer sure of their alliances with…