Recent data indicates that the U.S. trade war is beginning to impact consumer prices significantly. The Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index rose to 2.7% in June compared to the previous year, with core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, at 2.9%. “With increases in categories like household furnishings, recreation, and apparel, import levies are…

Ford has agreed to a job protection scheme at its Cologne electric car plant covering more than 10,000 workers. Company and German employee representatives said voluntary redundancies are planned in response to sluggish adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). “The job cuts are primarily based on voluntary redundancies. The severance payments are generous and significantly better…

Deloitte’s latest forecast shows back-to-school spending will remain flat at $30.9bn – or $570 per student – due to rising prices and economic uncertainty. This represents a 7% drop from 2021 levels, with last year’s average at $586 per child. The survey of 1,203 parents found shoppers are cautious amid tariff-driven cost increases. Major retailers…

Bloomberg reports that Meta Platforms has made record-breaking compensation offers to attract AI experts to its “superintelligence” team, including a package exceeding $200m for ex-Apple engineer Ruoming Pang. These multi-year offers combine base salary, cash bonuses, and heavily performance-tied Meta stock. Apple reportedly did not counter due to internal pay norms. Meta’s AI recruitment push…

Top technology leaders at US companies are getting bigger paychecks as AI expands the scope of their leadership and responsibilities. The median pay for CTOs rose 30.81% in 2024 from the previous year, to approximately $2.4m, according to C-Suite Comp, an executive and board pay analytics firm. A separate report from Heller Search Associates found…

In Vermont, nearly two-thirds of New England’s milk production is at risk following a significant immigration raid on a dairy farm. The raid has instilled fear across the Northeast agriculture sector, as Brett Stokes, a lawyer for the workers, noted that “these strong-arm tactics… play a role in stoking fear in the community.” The dairy…