Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years
Living through the biggest jump in grocery prices in a half-century has many Americans changing their eating and food shopping habits. The price of food purchased for home use has increased 33% since the beginning of 2019. In the 7 1/2 before thatThe war in Iran has made it uncertain if a slowdown expected this year will materialize. Residents of some cities where food prices increased by more than the national average say they hunting for deals at multiple stores and switching brands. Others are buying fewer of their favorite foods or less food overall. One reason consumers feel so pinched is other costs have climbed rapidly, too, most recently for gasoline.
Small businesses file lawsuits against Trump's new sweeping tariffs
NEW YORK (AP) — Trump’s tariffs are headed to court — again. Two lawsuits filed by small businesses are challenging Trump’s sweeping tariffs announced Thursday that impose double digit levies on 60 trading partners. The tariffs, implemented for what the Trump administration says is countries’ failure to prevent imports produced by forced labor, cover 99% of U.S. imports. Critics say that’s a pretext and the goal is to replace the worldwide tariffs that Trump imposed last year that were struck down by the Supreme Court in February. They came just as temporary 10% worldwide tariffs — that had also been challenged in court — expired.
The 'rockets and feathers' effect: Inflation eases but grocery bills do not
Economics has a term for what U.S. grocery prices have done in recent years. It's the rockets and feathers effect. Rockets, because the cost of food for eating at home shot up up after the coronavirus pandemic. Feathers, because prices fall slowly once they increase. That’s frustrating for Americans digesting a 33% jump in grocery prices since 2019 — the sharpest increase in 50 years. Food price inflation peaked nationwide in 2022, but it hasn’t reversed course. An acceleration during the Iran war prolonged the aggravation. A recent study by the consulting firm Bain & Co. and market research company NielsenIQ found that shoppers are buying fewer items at grocery stores.
What to know about Trump's latest tariffs
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump keeps finding ways to maintain a wall of tariffs around the American economy. On Friday, he rolled out new double-digit tariffs on imports from 60 U.S. trading partners, ostensibly for failing to do enough to prevent imports produced by forced labor. But the breadth of the levies suggests another motivation: replacing worldwide tariffs that Trump imposed last year only to see them struck down by the Supreme Court in February. The forced-labor import taxes also happened to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday — precisely when time ran out on temporary global tariffs Trump had imposed after the Supreme Court setback.
Trump says the US will investigate EU trade practices, claiming the bloc unfairly fined tech giants
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the United States will open a formal investigation into the European Union’s trade practices. He claims the bloc has unfairly levied billions of dollars of fines against Google, Apple and other U.S. tech giants. Trump made the announcement Friday. A day earlier, the EU hit Google with a fine of $1 billion after it said the technology behemoth broke digital antitrust regulations by setting up Google Play and its ubiquitous search engine to corral consumers toward its own services and apps to the detriment of competitors. Google says the fine hurts European businesses and consumers.
EU finds TikTok violates its digital rule book by failing to protect privacy of minors
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission has found TikTok did not adequately protected children’s privacy rights on its platform by allowing adults to view the accounts of minors. The commission said Friday that the action exposed children to cyberbullying, unwanted contact and predatory behavior. The investigation comes on the heels of back-to-back crackdowns on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in regulating tech behemoths including Meta and Apple. TikTok can now defend itself and reply to the findings. If unsatisfied with the Chinese firm’s response, the commission could issue a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of the company’s total annual revenue.
Paramount delays closing Warner buyout while judge considers states' challenge
NEW YORK (AP) — Skydance-owned Paramount has agreed to delay closing its $81 billion buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery well into next year. The move comes as a judge continues to consider a challenge from 12 states seeking to block the deal altogether. In a court filing, Paramount said it wouldn’t close the merger until a court ruling on the merits of the lawsuit or June 1, 2027. Just days ago, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted a temporary restraining order requested by the states to freeze the transaction for several weeks. The states allege the merger would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers.
Stocks waver on Wall Street while crude oil prices fall for the first time in a week
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks drifted on Wall Street and oil prices fell for the first time in a week, even as heavy fighting in the Middle East again threatened to slow the global flow of oil. The S&P 500 was mostly unchanged Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%. All three indexes finished the week lower. After shooting to $102 a barrel a day earlier, Brent crude fell almost 4% to settle at $96.78 a barrel. Treasury yields moved lower in the bond market. European markets rose and Asian markets closed lower.
Trump imposes double-digit tariffs on dozens of countries as his 10% levies are set to expire Friday
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is going ahead with new double-digit tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners just as the clock runs out Friday on stopgap levies he imposed after a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court. The United States will impose taxes of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries, charging that they have inadequately enforced bans on goods produced by forced labor. The new tariffs come as temporary 10% worldwide tariffs expire at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Trump had turned to those levies after the Supreme Court struck down his biggest and boldest tariffs in February. Now he’s tapping more durable tariffs under a 1974 trade law.
SpaceX launches Starship on another test flight, this time with the most advanced Starlinks
SpaceX’s Starship rocket has blasted off on another test flight, this time carrying 20 of the most advanced Starlinks. Towering more than 400 feet, Starship soared from Texas on Friday, a week after a last-second launch abort. It’s the 13th flight of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket. Like the May demo, neither the booster nor spacecraft is being saved, instead plunging into the sea. NASA is counting on Starship as a lunar lander for the Artemis moon program. NASA needs Starship to wrap up testing and reach orbit soon so the Artemis III astronauts can practice next year.
