Southwest Airlines tells staff ‘difficult decisions’ ahead

Southwest Airlines tells staff ‘difficult decisions’ ahead

A Southwest Airlines plane takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport on July 25, 2024 in Burbank, California.  Mario Tama | Getty Images Southwest Airlines has warned employees that it will have to make “difficult decisions” ahead to boost profits as the carrier faces pressure from activist Elliott Investment Management, which has sought leadership changes at … Read more

Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel on how AI will change trip planning

Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel on how AI will change trip planning

Most people like traveling. But far fewer enjoy booking it. A survey of more than 2,400 people who book their own travel arrangements found that 71% say the process is at least somewhat stressful for them, according to a 2024 survey by the consumer data company CivicScience. The percentage is even higher among parents of kids … Read more

Priceline, Ramp deal to disrupt ‘archaic’ business travel model

Priceline, Ramp deal to disrupt ‘archaic’ business travel model

Hinterhaus Productions | Stone | Getty Images Ramp, the expense management company recently valued at $7.65 billion, is moving into business travel through a deal with Booking Holdings’ Priceline, as the growing number of corporate spend platforms look to retain and attract customers with additional services. The new product, called Ramp Travel, utilizes AI and … Read more

Booming luxury travel and a jump in ‘relief’ loans

Booming luxury travel and a jump in ‘relief’ loans

At American Express, consumers are continuing to open high-fee credit cards and splurge on luxuries like travel. But for lending firm Upstart, there’s a strong interest in microloans as cash-strapped Americans try to scrape by. That juxtaposition underscores the growing picture of bifurcation among income brackets in America. And adds to an increasingly popular view … Read more

What we know about the consumer so far

What we know about the consumer so far

A customer walks through The Home Depot store on February 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas.  Brandon Bell | Getty Images The state of the consumer in 2024 is already taking shape — even before the country’s major retailers begin to report first-quarter earnings, starting with Home Depot and Walmart next week. There are signs that … Read more

Ad transparency tools ‘major disappointment’ ahead of election: study

Ad transparency tools ‘major disappointment’ ahead of election: study

Heading into the 2024 election in the U.S. and major political contests around the world, internet companies are unprepared for the onslaught of misinformation that’s coming. That’s according to research out Tuesday from Mozilla and CheckFirst, which concludes that leading tech platforms are lagging in their ad transparency tools. The study, conducted between December and … Read more

What the EU Digital Markets Act means for U.S. tech giants like Apple

What the EU Digital Markets Act means for U.S. tech giants like Apple

The logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone with an EU flag pictured in the background. Justin Tallis | AFP via Getty Images An EU law that seeks to rein in large digital companies has officially kicked in, spelling big changes for primarily U.S. tech giants. The European Union’s … Read more

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: SQ, CVNA and more

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: SQ, CVNA and more

In this photo illustration, the logo for the US tech firm “Block” is displayed and reflected in a number of digital screens on March 03, 2023 in London, England.  Leon Neal | Getty Images Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading. Intuit — Shares pulled back roughly 1% after the financial software company … Read more

Top Wall Street analysts prefer these 3 stocks for long-term growth

Top Wall Street analysts prefer these 3 stocks for long-term growth

Workers install a Nike logo lamp outside the Wukesong Arena in Beijing, August 28, 2019. Tingshu Wang | Reuters The U.S. stock market started 2024 on a dismal note, but investors will need to look past the short-term uncertainty. Rather than worrying about the slow start to the year, investors should focus on adding stocks … Read more

Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Tuesday

Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Tuesday

My top 10 things to watch Tuesday, Jan. 2 1. The S & P 500 finished 2023 with nine straight up weeks, its best winning streak since 2004. Up 24% for the year. We’re kicking off the new year by trimming 8 stocks that had huge runs last year. Bulls make money, bears make money, … Read more