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Stocks are drifting near their record heights on Wall Street Wednesday, while the price of gold falls again to trim more off its tremendous gain for the year.The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trading and is sitting just underneath its all-time high, which was set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 65 points, or 0.1%, coming off its own record. The Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time.Bank stocks were holding relatively steady after Capital One Financial, Western Alliance Bancorp and others reported stronger profits for the summer than analysts expected. The report from Western Alliance was particularly welcome after it helped shake confidence in the industry last week. It’s one of several banks that have warned of potentially bad loans on its books, possibly because of fraud.Intuitive Surgical, which sells robotic-assisted surgical systems, soared 16.5%, and GE Vernova added 0.5% after they likewise reported better profits for the latest quarter than analysts expected.It’s usually the case that the majority of companies deliver better profits each quarter than analysts had forecast. But the pressure is higher on companies to do so this time around because of criticism that their stock prices shot too high following a 35% romp for the S&P 500 from a low in April.Netflix’s stock, for example, came into the day with a jump of 39.3% for the year so far, more than double the S&P 500’s gain. But its stock tumbled 8.3% on Wednesday after it delivered weaker results for the latest quarter than expected.AT&T fell 4.5% after delivering a profit that only matched analysts’ expectations, while Texas Instruments sank 7.7% after its profit fell just short of forecasts.Beyond Meat, meanwhile, continued its meme-stock run and soared another 48.9% to bring its stunning gain for the week to nearly 735%. Part of Beyond’s rise could be due to a recent announcement that Walmart will increase availability of some of its products at over 2,000 U.S. stores.The maker of plant-based meat alternatives was also the biggest holding in the Roundhill Meme Stock exchange-traded fund, as of Tuesday. The ETF holds companies where investors have piled in almost regardless of their financial prospects in hopes of catching a wave.Momentum was continuing to head the other way for gold, which slipped 0.8% to $4,075 per ounce. That’s after Tuesday’s 5.3% slide knocked it off its record high.Many of the same factors that drew buyers to gold this year are still there. Expectations are still for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates through next year, concerns are growing about inflation remaining high and the worrisome mountains of debt that the U.S. and other governments worldwide have amassed are only rising further.But no investment’s price goes up forever, and criticism had been growing that gold’s price had gone too far, too fast after it shot up even more than the overall U.S. stock market. Gold’s price is still up more than 50% for the year so far.In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.London’s FTSE 100 rose 1% after a report on U.K. inflation raised hopes for another cut to interest rates next month. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.6% for another one of the worlds bigger gains. But indexes fell 0.9% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in Paris.In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 3.96% from 3.98% late Tuesday. AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed. Stan Choe, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
What?! That single word is the most frequent reaction AasiyahAbdulsalam gets when she tells people about her company, Renatural, which makes wigs with no lace. The surprise stems from the fact that most commercial wigs today are built with a lace basea lightweight mesh cap that mimics the scalp but is really scratchy and only comes in a limited palette of colors. Instead of lace, Abdulsalam has designed a proprietary silicone band to anchor the wig without visible mesh. After launching the Wig Fix three years ago and selling 80,000 units in her first year, she decided to expand from simply supplying an accessory to reinventing the wig itself. Launching today, with a waitlist of 40,000 customers and counting, Renaturals hyper-realistic wigs are made by a custom-built robot that can make 350 wigs a week. While some wigs can take 8-12 weeks to make, Renatural’s robot can sew a wig in 45 minutes. The brand’s most exciting feature will depend on who you ask. For investorswho have poured just over $6 million into the companythe robot signals scalability. For consumers, its the absence of lace. Either way, Renatural may well upend the wig industry. The wig culture boom Wigs have a long history that dates back to Ancient Egypt, where they symbolized status and rank (and helped prevent lice infestations). Later, they were embraced by royalty and aristocracy, and popularized by figures like Queen Elizabeth I and Kings and Louis XIV. Throughout the 20th century, wigs have been used as a medical accessory and a fashion statement, but for Abdulsalam, wigs are having a moment in the sun today thanks to celebrity culture and social media trends like WigTok. “It’s like the ultimate lazy girl hack,” she says. “You don’t have to do anything, and your hair looks good.” Renatural is far from the first company to have noticed the rise in popularity. By some recent estimates, the global hair wigs and extension market is worth just under $9 billion in 2025, and is projected to reach $20 billion by 2035. In the U.S., DTC brands like Parfait have started to leverage AI to make more personalized wigs. But the large majority of wigs are still made in one Chinese city called Xuchang, in Henan province. With more than 4,000 companies making 60% of the global supply of wigs, Xuchang remains the worlds wig capital. Its like an oligopoly, says Abdulsalam. These companies have hundreds of thousands of subsidiaries that supply the whole world with wigs. Cutting through the noise Abdulsalam, a 30-year-old Black woman from the U.K. who now lives in New York City, began wearing wigs at age 16 to manage scalp psoriasis. She went on to study at the London School of Economics, where she wrote her undergraduate dissertation on wigs, and became “kind of obsessed. At age 20, she moved to South Koreathen home to the worlds largest wig-manufacturing complexand worked in a wig factory for six months. I got to see why things are the way they are, she says. That gave me a good foundation on wig-making and all the techniques. Most recently, she founded an early version of Renatural that focused on accessories like the iconic Wig Fix. She then sold that business in 2019, reinvested the proceeds into Renatural 2.0, and built an early prototype of the robotic system by jerry-rigging a 3D printer and an embroidery machine in her apartmentall without an engineering degree. Funny story, she says. I watched 34 out of the 38 seasons of How Its Made and I feel like that gives me a bootleg degree. To leapfrog other competitors without relying on cheap labor abroad, Abdulsalam knew she had to build a vertically-integrated business that controls everythingfrom sourcing to manufacturing. At her HQ in Dumbo, Brooklyn, every step of wig-making unfolds on-site in a space the size of four parking garages. The star of that vertical structure is, of course, the robotic system. The robot sorts and aligns human hair by root and tip, then stitches each strand into a soft, scalp-like base, following digital maps that mimic how hair naturally grows. As it works, it adjusts the angle and tension of every strand to recreate natural details like partings and cowlicks. The result is a hyper-realistic wig that looks, moves, and shines like real hair. (Wigs come in three signature collectionsall made with human hairand an assortment of lengths. They cost anywhere between $950 and $1,950.) The robot will be key to the brands success, but Abdulsalam maintains that humans remain integral to the process. There is deep craftsmanship involved to make the wig actually wearable, she says. For her, Renatural is more than a wig businessits a beauty-brand that is built around wigs. Products arrive in shiny silver boxes reminiscent of luxury-beauty packaging. There are even cutesy merch items like hair cuffs and pocket mirrors with integrated combs. Other companies have developed their marketing strategies around specific demographics (Black women, people who wear wigs for religious beliefs, those who suffer from hair loss, fashion-first clients). But Renatural embraces all categories, and more. “We’re just Renatural,” says Abdulsalam, “for people who want to look and feel their best.”
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E-Commerce
Dont look now, but meme stock mania appears to be back with a vengeance this week. This time around, Beyond Meat, Inc. (Nasdaq: BYND) and Krispy Kreme, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNUT) are the two main stocks getting all the attention from meme investors. Heres what you need to know. Beyond Meat shares skyrocket again On Monday, Fast Company reported on the surging share price of Beyond Meat, the producer of plant-based meat alternatives. The company started the trading week by enjoying a stock price surge of more than 67% in premarket trading that day. But far from any change in the companys financial fundamentals, what seemed to be driving shares higher were short sellers and meme stock enthusiasts. Indeed, Beyond Meats business has been struggling in recent years as consumers have turned away from plant-based meat alternatives. More recently, Beyond Meat announced that its creditors had agreed to a debt swap, which will result in the issuance of 316 million new BYND shares, thereby diluting existing shares. But a struggling company in penny stock territory can be red meat to meme investors. For much of the past week, meme traders on Reddit and elsewhere have been pumping up the stockand it appears to be working. Yesterday, Beyond Meat shares rose a staggering 146% to close at $3.62 per share. And today in premarket trading, as of the time of this writing, BYND shares are up another 103% to $7.37. That puts Beyond Meat shares at a price they have not seen since 2024. It also puts Beyond Meats shares firmly in the green for this year. The stock began 2025 at around $4 per share, but that price had fallen to as low as 50 cents per share just last week, before meme stock traders decided to take a bite. One other contributing factor to Beyond Meats surge this week is that, as CNBC notes, the stock was added to Roundhill Investments Meme Stock ETF on Monday, cementing its place in the meme stock pantheon. Meme stock traders want dessert, too Krispy Kremes stock is also seeing some meme stock action this week. DNUT shares rose more than 13% yesterday to $3.71, and as of the time of this writing, in premarket trading this morning, the companys shares are up another 40% to $5.23 apiece. While those gains are a far cry from the ones BYND shares are experiencing, DNUT shares have more experience in the meme stock arena. Meme stock investors heavily traded DNUT shares earlier this year. Other factors that may be impacting interest in Krispy Kremes stock include the company’s recent international expansion in Spain, with additional countries, Brazil and Uzbekistan, planned before the end of the year. Investors likely hope that this expansion can help offset domestic sales issues. Still, despite its recent gains, DNUT shares remain significantly down from where they were at the beginning of this year. In January, the stock traded at more than $9.80 apiece. And as of yesterdays close, DNUT shares have fallen more than 67% over the past 12 months.
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E-Commerce
Anthropic insists that its getting along with the Trump administration just fine.In a new blog post published on October 21, the companys CEO, Dario Amodei, pushed back on what he called a recent uptick in inaccurate claims about Anthropic’s policy stances. His comments come after David Sacks, a prominent tech venture capitalist currently serving as the Trump administrations AI czar, accused Anthropic of having an agenda to backdoor Woke AI through state-level regulation and working with Democratic mega-donors. That narrative has since gained traction within online right-wing spaces. The comments also follow the White Houses release of an executive order specifically focused on combating woke AI earlier this year, though officials have yet to say how it will be enforced. Now Anthropic is defending its work on AI safety, which Amodei argued should prioritize policy over politics. He also doubled down on the company’s position on regulating AI on the state level, in absence of a national standard. Citing JD Vances comments on AI directly, Amodei pointed to several areas of agreement with the Trump administration, including to maximize applications that help people, like breakthroughs in medicine and disease prevention, while minimizing the harmful ones. The CEO also questioned the notion that Claude, the companys flagship chatbot, is more susceptible to political bias than other similar large language models. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have increasingly leveled accusations that the countrys leading AI companies are building biased AI models, echoing the accusations made against social media companies in recent years. In short, Anthropic wants to toe the line between sticking to its commitment to study AI safetysafeguarding against general artificial intelligence endangering the human species and society in all sorts of destabilizing waysand appeasing the professed concerns of the Trump administration. Thats all happening while the company attempts to scoop up more government work. Anthropic is committed to constructive engagement on matters of public policy. When we agree, we say so, wrote Amodei. When we dont, we propose an alternative for consideration. We do this because we are a public benefit corporation with a mission to ensure that AI benefits everyone, and because we want to maintain Americas lead in AI. Again, we believe we share those goals with the Trump administration, both sides of Congress, and the public. We are going to keep being honest and straightforward, and will stand up for the policies we believe are right. The stakes of this technology are too great for us to do otherwise. Federal contracts Amodei underscored that Anthropic already has myriad partnerships with the federal government, including a contract with the Pentagon and work with the Energy Departments national laboratory system. Along with competitors like OpenAI, Google, and xAI, Anthropic is also working with the General Services Administration to offer its enterprise Claude service to federal agencies at a discounted price. Anthropics work within the GSA seems to be unaffected by whatever might be happening within the Office of Science and Technology Policy, where Sacks serves as an adviser, a government official familiar with the matter told Fast Company. Last month, Democrats launched an ethics inquiry into the investor, who has received waivers that allow him to participate in the administration while maintaining some of his investments. Anthropic has gotten good feedback from the GSA about government use of the tool, a company spokesperson says. The AI developer also points to its ongoing partnership with Palantir on meeting Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) requirements, a wonky but critical cloud security review program used to offer technology across federal agencies. Palantir is a controversial technology contractor thats seen its business with both the defense and civilian sides of government grow in recent years. As part of that work, Palantir has already been cleared to provide its cloud technology to federal agencies. While Anthropic has been picking up government contracts, it appears to be falling behind OpenAI on independent FedRAMP authorization. This could be a game changer for OpenAI: Should OpenAI earn that accreditation, it wont need to work through another companylike Microsoftto offer its technology directly to the government. At that point, OpenAI would be a more freestanding government contractor, maintaining far more independence from other major cloud companies. The same government official told Fast Company that Anthropic has yet to share a plan for gaining accreditation for its systems through that program, or securing a sponsorship for review in another way. A spokesperson for the GSA declined to comment.
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E-Commerce
For many, picking up a controller at the end of a long day to neutralize some zombies or take on a side quest with a fairy is a way to unwind and escape from the demands of work. But it might also have some unexpected benefits that follow you from the character select screen and into the office. A new report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) finds that the motivations behind gaming go far beyond fun. While 66% of the more than 24,000 players in 21 countries surveyed say they play primarily for enjoyment, the majority credit gaming with developing real-world skills, like problem-solving, teamwork, adaptability, and critical thinking. All useful transferable skills to play up in a job interview. (Maybe dont reveal you honed them playing Fortnite, though.) More than half the respondents say playing video games helps relieve stress (58%). Forty-five percent say playing video keeps their minds sharp, and nearly half (43%) of players say video games have positively influenced their education or career path. The player perspective is supported by scientific research, with many studies concluding that video games improve cognitive skills and decision-making, Stanley Pierre-Louis, president and CEO, Entertainment Software Association, told Fast Company. A number of industries have already embraced interactive technologies for training employees, from medical treatments and surgery to astronautics and emergency response, says Pierre-Louis. I anticipate more will recognize gameplay as a way to engage with and develop their workforce in the near future.” Brain health experts are a bit divided as to whether some games, like Wordle, actually improve cognitive function. And while the ESA report is of course an industry one, theres other data out there that may support its findings. A 2022 study found that kids who play video games showed better impulse control and working memory than those who didnt. Another from 2021 found that playing video games does improve not only cognitive functions, but also mood and emotional well-being in elderly people. Another, from 2020 from University of Liechtenstein, found a strong correlation between video game skills and managerial ability. In fact, being adept at video games can significantly boost ones career, the researchers wrote. A literature review published in Procedia Computer Science, cited in the ESA report, also found that gaming can enhance perception, attentional control, and decision-making. Nurses and doctors, for example, who trained with simulation games showed improvements in both risk assessment and response time. These benefits arent limited to just life-or-death scenarios. Retailers have also turned to game-based tools to prepare employees for peak shopping events, the report notes. Sports teams use simulation tech to help athletes train. Across industries, gaming has become a quick fix to boost preparedness and improve team outcomes. Of course, spending hours gaming in the evening is not always the answer to your work woes. Sometimes its just a way to unwind after a long day. (There’s research that suggests mental health benefits of having hobbies, by the way.) But research has also previously found that gaming can actually hinder the amount of work young men do by 15 to 30 hours over the course of one year. And excessive gaming can be detrimental to mental health, or even spiral into addiction for some people. As companies struggle to maintain engaged employees, burnout is on the up. Who knows? Maybe a chill pastime in front of a glowing screen is just the thing to take the edge off. (Or, in some ways, may also give the edge you need to perform better at work.)
Category:
E-Commerce
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