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Finance
Stories and analysis from The Business Now newsroom.
Finance
Walmart Stock Plunges 6%: What Its Weak Outlook Says About the U.S. Consumer
Walmart Stock Plunges 6% — But the Earnings Were Not Actually Bad This is where the headline can be misleading. Walmart did not report a disastrous quarter. Quite the opposite. Revenue rose 5.9%, operating income increased 28.8%, e-commerce remained extremely strong and Walmart raised its full-year sales and profit expectations. Yet investors immediately sold the...
Economy
U.S. National Debt Hits $40 Trillion: Why Treasury Yields Are Rising Again
The $40 Trillion Number Is Not the Whole Story The United States has crossed a psychological and financial milestone. $40 trillion. But simply writing “America owes $40 trillion” misses the more important story. The real question for markets is: Who is willing to finance America’s growing debt — and at what interest rate? That question...
Business
Japan’s Bond Market Is Sending a Warning: 10-Year Yields Near 3% Put the BOJ and Government Under Pressure
Japan’s Bond Market Is Sending a Warning: 10-Year Yields Near 3% Put the BOJ and Government Under Pressure Japan’s once-unthinkably low borrowing costs are disappearing. As the 10-year Japanese government bond yield approaches 3%, investors are reassessing inflation, government spending, the yen and the next move from the Bank of Japan. Japan’s bond market is...
Business
Nike Stock Down 35%: China Crisis Deepens — Is NKE a Bargain or a Dangerous Value Trap?
Nike Stock Is Falling — But Is This Finally the Buying Opportunity Investors Have Been Waiting For? Nike (NYSE: NKE) is facing a problem that goes far beyond a weak quarter. The world’s most recognizable sportswear brand is trying to rebuild growth while dealing with declining sales in China, weaker direct-to-consumer revenue, intense competition and...
Business
Trump Threatens Oman Over Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran Talks Reach Critical Point
Trump Threatens Oman as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Deepens US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Oman, saying the United States could take military action if Oman interferes with Washington’s efforts to control shipping through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The comments, reported on August 17, come at a highly sensitive...
Business
AI Leverage Warning: The Same Big Tech Stocks Are Powering a Growing Market of Leveraged ETFs
AI Leverage Warning: The Same Big Tech Stocks Are Powering a Growing Market of Leveraged ETFs AI stocks have become more than a dominant force in the equity market—they are increasingly sitting underneath leveraged exchange-traded products that can magnify daily gains and losses. That concentration is creating a new source of market sensitivity: when the...
Commodities
U.S.-Iran Deal Could Be Closer Than Trump’s Rhetoric Suggests: Pakistan Says Hormuz Talks Near Breakthrough
U.S.-Iran Deal Could Be Closer Than Trump’s Rhetoric Suggests: Pakistan Says Hormuz Talks Near Breakthrough Pakistan says the United States and Iran may be closer to an agreement than President Donald Trump’s latest hard-line statements suggest, raising fresh hopes that a diplomatic path could eventually reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease pressure on global...
Business
U.S. Debt Alert: Treasury Is Paying More Than $3 Billion a Day in Interest as Deficit Heads Toward $2.1 Trillion
U.S. Debt Alert: Treasury Is Paying More Than $3 Billion a Day in Interest as Deficit Heads Toward $2.1 Trillion America’s fiscal picture is coming under renewed pressure as the federal government faces rapidly rising interest costs and another enormous annual deficit. New Congressional Budget Office figures show that net interest on debt held by...
Business
Anthropic’s $9.1 Billion Riot Platforms Deal Changes the AI Data-Center Game — Is RIOT the Next AI Infrastructure Winner?
Anthropic’s $9.1 Billion Riot Platforms Deal Changes the AI Data-Center Game — Is RIOT the Next AI Infrastructure Winner? Anthropic has signed a massive 20-year data-center agreement with Riot Platforms. The deal could generate $9.1 billion in revenue for Riot, with the potential value rising to $16.1 billion if extension options are exercised. But the...