Author: admin

CNN  —  In a sign that consumer demand may be fraying around the edges, spending at US retailers slowed sharply in April to 0.1% after a surge of 1.7% in March as shoppers rushed to beat President Donald Trump’s stiff tariffs. The April data was worse than the 0.2% monthly rise economists polled by FactSet predicted. Among the biggest monthly declines was motor vehicle and part sales, which declined to -0.1% in April from 9.4% in March. Consumer spending is the backbone of the economy, accounting for two-thirds of gross domestic product. The steep drop in retail sales could lead…

CNN  —  US wholesale prices sank in April, logging their biggest monthly drop since Covid stifled the economy, as tariffs put a squeeze on profit margins, according to new data released Thursday. The Producer Price Index, a closely watched measurement of wholesale inflation, showed Thursday that the prices paid to US producers dropped 0.5% in April from the month before, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. A driving force behind the downward swing was a 1.7% plunge in trade services, a category that measures gross margins for wholesalers and retailers. Although it’s a volatile category, the sharp downward swing…

ZURICH: FIFA is targeting $1 billion in revenue from the Women’s World Cup, global football governing body’s president Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday at the Saudi Arabia-US Investment Forum 2025 in Riyadh. The 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, broke even after generating more than $570 million in revenue. “Women’s football and women in football are crucially important…,” said Infa­n­tino. “It’s growing as well, and exponentially, and we are targeting that as well to have $1 billion revenue just with the Women’s World Cup to reinvest in the women’s game.” The next women’s World Cup in…

NEW DELHI: The Indian Pre­mier League resumes on Saturday after its suspension because of the India-Pakistan conflict, but there are doubts over foreign players and the extended schedule has sparked a showdown with international cricket. The IPL will now end on June 3, nine days later than planned, putting it on a collision course with the English summer of cricket and preparations for the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s on June 11. An England ODI series against the West Indies starts on May 29 while the South Africa and Australia squads are due to begin build-up for their…

PARIS: Human Rights Watch on Wednesday said grave abuses were being committed on giant construction sites in Saudi Arabia and warned the risks to migrant workers could increase as the building of stadiums for the 2034 World Cup gathers pace. HRW said that “scores of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia die in gruesome yet avoidable workplace-related accidents, including falling from buildings, electrocution, and even decapitation”. The NGO, which has studied nearly 50 cases of deaths in Saudi Arabia, said Saudi authorities had “failed to adequately protect workers from preventable deaths, investigate workplace safety incidents, and ensure timely and adequate compensation…

CNN  —  American consumers, battle-scarred by the pandemic and the subsequent surge in inflation, are already changing their spending patterns and delaying some purchases due to President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policy and the broader economic uncertainty, new survey data shows. The shift in spending plans was among the findings from tax and audit firm KPMG’s second annual American Perspectives survey released early Thursday. The survey of 2,500 adults sought to evaluate their personal financial situations as well as how they were adapting to changing forces in the economy, including new tariffs, the rise of generative artificial intelligence and the…

A Dawn.com journalist has become the first Pakistani to win the top prize in the ‘Young Reporters Writing’ category at the International Sport Press Association’s 2024 AIPS Sport Media Awards, which honour the “world’s finest sports journalists”. According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the award ceremony was held in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Anushe Engineer was chosen as the winner from three finalists in her category, surpassing France’s Louis Boulay and the United Kingdom’s Issy Ronald, for her feature, ‘It’s all or nothing for Arshad Nadeem in Paris’. The finalists were shortlisted from 37 entries initially selected…

A Dawn.com journalist has become the first Pakistani to win the top prize in the ‘Young Reporters Writing’ category at the International Sport Press Association’s 2024 AIPS Sport Media Awards, which honour the “world’s finest sports journalists”. According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the award ceremony was held in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Anushe Engineer was chosen as the winner from three finalists in her category, surpassing France’s Louis Boulay and the United Kingdom’s Issy Ronald, for her feature, ‘It’s all or nothing for Arshad Nadeem in Paris’. The finalists were shortlisted from 37 entries initially selected…

Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., speaks during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee impeachment inquiry hearing into U.S. President Joe Biden on Sept. 28, 2023.Jonathan Ernst | ReutersHouse Republicans have advanced trillions of tax breaks as part of President Donald Trump’s economic package.After debating the legislation overnight, the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax, passed its portion of the legislation on Wednesday morning in a 26-19 party line vote.But the battle over the deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT, remains in limbo.The text released Monday afternoon would raise the SALT cap to $30,000 for those with…

Stephanie Phillips | Getty ImagesMore from FA Playbook:Here’s a look at other stories impacting the financial advisor business.”Markets go up and down, but students’ goals remain the same,” said Chris McGee, chair of the College Savings Foundation.529 plan popularity has soaredIn 2024, the number of 529 plan accounts increased to 17 million, up more than 3% percent from the year before, according to Investment Company Institute.Total investments in 529s rose to $525 billion as of December, up 11% from a year earlier, while the average 529 plan account balance hit a record of $30,961, data from the College Savings Plans Network, a…