Here are today's top business headlines you need to know.
AMAZON GO CLOSURES
Online shopping giant amazon continues its cost-cutting efforts with the permanent closure of six of its "go convenience stores." Starting April first--the online giant will close two stores in New York City and four in San Francisco. The stores, introduced in 2016, were designed to offer benefits for both customers and the company. Customers could shop without having to checkout or scan an item. and Amazon didn't need to hire staff. The closures follow Amazon's announcement that it's pausing construction on its second headquarters in northern Virginia.
VERIZON PRICE HIKE
Verizon is raising the prices on some of its older cell phone plans as part of a broader effort to get more of its customer base on 5G plans. Customers who decide to stay on one of Verizon's older unlimited plans will be charged an additional $2 a month. That change will take effect on April 10th. The move comes as Verizon looks to grow its consumer unit.
US CREDIT RATING
A leading financial company said America's credit rating could get downgraded. Fitch ratings said the political back and forth on whether to raise the debt ceiling or to default could lead to a downgrade. The U.S. currently has perfect credit, but Fitch explained that rating is not based on the country's finances but rather the U.S. dollar's reserve currency status and the treatment of U.S. Treasuries as risk-free assets for global investors. Fitch's global head of sovereign ratings said the ongoing debate over raising the debt ceiling is "chipping away at those two things."
DOJ SPIRIT AIRLINES LAWSUIT
The Justice Department is expected to file suit to block Jetblue's pending $3.8 billion takeover of Spirit Airlines. The agency argues the deal would eliminate a critical low-cost carrier and raise prices in an already heavily-consolidated industry. The lawsuit is the latest anti-monopoly move by the Biden administration, which has also shown increasing interest in policing air travel. The lawsuit's likely timing was first reported by Bloomberg News.
MERCK'S NEW CARDIO DRUG
Merck said its experimental cardio therapy helped increase exercise capacity in patients with a deadly disease that causes high pressure in blood vessels of the heart and lungs. Meanwhile, a second experimental heart drug helped reduce levels of low-density lipo-protein cholesterol by 41 percent. Merck has been beefing up its portfolio of cardiovascular drugs as part of its strategy to counter a possible hit to sales to its best-selling drug Keytruda.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
William Falcon, CEO and Founder of Lightning AI, discusses the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and how everyday people can use AI in their lives.
