You’re not going crazy — you may actually be paying higher prices than other people
CNN
It’s hard not to get fired up at how much more everything costs compared to just a few years ago. But people making the same exact purchases as you aren’t necessarily paying the same exact prices as you.
It’s hard not to get fired up at how much more everything costs compared to just a few years ago. But people making the same exact purchases as you aren’t necessarily paying the same exact prices as you. This became apparent to me a few weeks ago when a friend texted me that Starbucks was running a buy one, get one free drink promotion. But when I logged in to the app, the offer was nowhere to be found. Why was my friend getting special treatment? It’s likely that Starbucks used artificial intelligence to determine that my friend, if offered a promotion, would make a purchase they wouldn’t otherwise have, whereas I would make a purchase regardless, said Shikha Jain, a lead partner in the North American consumer and retail division at the consultancy firm Simon-Kucher. The system nailed it for me — just opening the app to check if I had the promo got me to order, and I paid full price. It’s impossible to say exactly how Starbucks’ systems made that correct judgment about me — though my past shopping behavior and the shopping behavior of similar customers were almost certainly factors, she said.
The housing market has spent the last several years in a deep freeze, with high borrowing costs and soaring prices stalling sales and new listings. But US homebuyers may get some relief in 2026.
Gold is having its best year since 1979.
For years, a huge Amazon contract has been one of the few bright spots in the US Postal Service’s finances. But now the USPS plans to offer those last-mile services to additional customers to stem billions in ongoing losses – a move that risks losing its biggest customer.
Data this week showed that the American economy is growing at its fastest pace in two years — and yet polling shows the mood on Main Street is grim.
Lottery hopefuls can try their luck once again for the estimated $1.7 billion Powerball jackpot after no winners took home the grand prize Monday night.
One of China’s most popular short-video and streaming platforms was flooded with porn and violent content earlier this week, sparking outrage and bafflement in a nation where the internet is tightly controlled.
An initial reading of third-quarter gross domestic product showed the US economy expanded at an inflation-adjusted annualized rate of 4.3%, a far faster pace than the 3.8% recorded in the second quarter, according to Commerce Department data released Tuesday. That’s the fastest growth rate in two years.
When jobs or inflation data counter President Donald Trump’s preferred economic narrative, he typically offers alternative statistics to shine a more positive light on the economy. But Trump’s latest effort asks Americans to buy in to some puzzling logic.
A new rule by the Federal Communications Commission will make it impossible for US consumers to buy the next generation of foreign made drones, including DJI.
CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss decided to shelve a planned “60 Minutes” story titled “Inside CECOT,” creating an uproar inside CBS, but the report has reached a worldwide audience anyway.
Earlier this month, after President Donald Trump blasted “60 Minutes” for interviewing Marjorie Taylor Greene, correspondents noticed a change behind the scenes.
Paramount has upped the ante in its hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, announcing Monday that Larry Ellison will personally guarantee the tens of billions of dollars he is putting up to bankroll the transaction. The Ellisons will also let shareholders peer into the finances of their family trust.
Thieves are increasingly targeting the copper wires that keep America’s power grids and phone networks running.