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CBS reports “ Popular drugs used to suppress appetites such as Ozempic and Wegovy might be causing an economic impact at some large retailers who say that people are buying less food at the grocery store, impacting their bottom line.” Video at link

The average cost of second hand electric cars is plummeting by a “phenomenal amount” as they sit for “months on end” without any buyers. Research by online motor marketplace, AutoTrader, revealed the average price for a used EV has dropped by 21.4 per cent this month, compared to a year ago. Marc Palmer, the head of strategy and insights at AutoTrader, told MailOnline: “The used market will now be slower to mature. There will be fewer new EVs registered and fewer used cars coming to market. “There will be sections of the public, especially those who are sceptical, who will...

Dollar Tree is planning to lock up some of its merchandise and may discontinue the sale of certain products, as theft makes a dent in the company’s profit margins. Richard Dreiling, Dollar Tree’s CEO, said on a call with analysts Thursday that the company is introducing new measures in the second half of the year to combat “shrink,” or the loss of inventory from theft and other causes. “We are now taking a very defensive approach to shrink,” Dreiling said, noting that such inventory losses “advanced a little further than what we had anticipated.” Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, both...

New York City’s legal marijuana market could generate $1.2 billion in sales and $47 million in tax revenue for city coffers when fully operational — but the high times might not happen until after 2030. The long wait for the bud bucks to finally bloom is due to the current slow rollout of the opening of pot stores, of which only a handful of legal shops have opened, a new analysis released Thursday reveals. “The rollout of the legal cannabis market has been slowed, however, by several challenges: illicit sales by unlicensed businesses, siting and funding issues for dispensary owners,...

US consumer spending rose more than anticipated in July, according to government data released Tuesday, showing resilience even as the economy cools on the back of a boost from online spending. Retail sales in the world’s biggest economy advanced 0.7 percent to $696.4 billion last month, up from a revised 0.3 percent rise in June, said the Commerce Department. Consumption has proven more robust than expected in the United States as households dip into savings accumulated during the pandemic, supporting growth while business activity slowed in recent months.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the global beer-making giant, reported a sharp drop in sales and profit in the United States, as it counted the cost of a conservative-led boycott of Bud Light after the company’s collaboration with a transgender influencer. Anheuser-Busch said that its revenue in the United States fell more than 10% last quarter, versus the same period last year, “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.” Operating profit at the U.S. unit dropped by nearly 30%. Bud Light has faced a backlash from conservative commentators and celebrities after Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, posted a promotion for the...

(By Jon Miltimore, FEE) Ford Motor recently announced it is slashing prices on its F-150 Lightning, an electric vehicle the company rolled out in 2021. The Lightning now carries a suggested retail price of $49,995, about $10,000 lower than its previous recommended price tag ($59,974), a reduction the company says is possible because of lower “battery raw material costs and continued work on scaling production and cost.” It’s certainly possible that reduced overhead from battery minerals and production costs played a role in Ford’s decision to trim its price tag by nearly 20%, but that may be only half the...

The number of unsold electric vehicles at dealers in the second quarter tripled compared to the past year, signaling a weakened demand for the segment, said a recent report by leading auto-dealer data company Cox Automotive.In second quarter 2023, the average inventory for electric vehicles (EVs) topped more than 92,000 units on the ground at dealer lots, according to the 2023 Cox Automotive Mid-Year Review presentation. This is up 342 percent compared to second quarter 2022. During this period, the new “EV days’ supply,” which refers to the average number of days a warehouse holds inventory before selling it, rose...

Gun sales topped 1 million in June, marking the 47th straight month of record gun sales. The National Shooting Sports Foundation said that 1,110,696 background checks were for gun purchases of the 2,152,187 conducted in June, according to the Washington Examiner. The rest were for the right to carry in public places and other security permits. "Americans have another million reasons to celebrate this Independence Day. More than 1.1 million times in June, Americans exercised their Second Amendment rights to lawfully purchase a firearm," NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva said. "That extends the streak to 47 continuous months that background checks...

By now you have heard of the Dutch farmers’ controversy.The government of The Netherlands is buying out thousands of farms to meet idiotic climate change goals–under the theory that growing food is an unacceptable pollutant–and forcing the most productive farmers in the world to quit feeding people.Understandably the farmers are upset and have been flexing their political muscle, but it all came to naught when talks between the government and the farmers collapsed. Plans to forcibly close the farms are moving forward. 3000 farms will go “poof” and somehow the climate will be saved.🇳🇱 Now that the totalitarian Dutch government...

If Bud Light sales continue to lag, the brand risks losing shelf space at major retailers to competitors and 'locking in' lower market share, a former Anheuser-Busch executive has claimed. In recent weeks, Bud Light sales have been down roughly a quarter from a year ago, as the brand faces conservative backlash over an April marketing deal with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Anson Frericks, the former US president of sales and distribution for St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, said that retailers such as Walmart and Kroger typically 'reset' their shelf space allocations in the spring and fall, based on sales data. For...

On March 24, 2023, Governor Roy Cooper (D) of North Carolina vetoed SB 41, which would remove the Jim Crow era requirement to obtain permission from the Sheriff to purchase or transfer a pistol in the state. Federal background checks would still be required. Governor Cooper vetoed a similar measure in 2021. Critics of the law have claimed it was used as a means of discrimination to keep black people disarmed.The bill, SB 41, passed with veto-proof majorities in the House and in the Senate.The Senate has 50 members. 30 of them are Republicans.In the House, there are 120 members....

On March 29, 2023, the North Carolina legislature voted to override the veto of Democrat North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. In the Senate, as expected, the vote was 30 to 19, with 30 Republicans voting to override the veto of the Jim Crow era pistol permit law, 19 Democrats voting against the bill, and one Democrat not voting with an excused absence.In the House, there are 71 Republicans and 49 Democrats. 3/5 of the vote is required to override a veto. If all members voted, 72 votes would be required. In this case, three Democrats were excused from voting, so...

Electrifying the car market may be getting more difficult, with the share of Americans who say they’re “very unlikely” to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase growing in each of the first three months of the year, according to a new report. In March, 21% of new-vehicle shoppers said they were “very unlikely” to consider an EV, up from 18.9% in February and 17.8% in January, consumer analytics firm JD Power said in a monthly EV report. In contrast, the percentage of car shoppers who say they are “very likely” to consider an EV was 26.9% in March,...

Americans are drinking less beer after Bud Light, among others, raised their prices. In AB InBev's (BUD) latest quarterly results, the total volume of beer sold decreased by 0.9%. At the same time, total revenue grew 10.2% to $14.67 billion, with price increases a key driver of that. After price increases and "really complicated" weather in the month of December, CEO Michel Doukeris called the Q4 results in the U.S. a "one-off, complicated quarter" in a call with investors. Last quarter, the average price of a 24-pack of 12 oz. beer went up nearly 8%, per NielsenIQ data that was...

The Biden administration is reportedly planning to propose some of the most stringent automobile pollution rules in the world, which are meant to drive up sales of electric vehicles to ten times their current level so that up to 67 percent of new cars sold in the U.S. are electric vehicles by 2032. The proposed limits on tailpipe emissions will be brought by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with EPA administrator Michael Regan making the announcement on Wednesday in Detroit, Michigan, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke to the New York Times.

Former President Donald Trump reached number one on Billboard’s digital song sales chart with his debut single, “Justice For All,” featuring the J6 Prison Choir. Released this month, “Justice For All” is a tribute to the January 6 prisoners that features the “J6 Prison Choir,” an ensemble of prisoners who can be heard singing the national anthem while Trump recites the Pledge of Allegiance. These prisoners reportedly sing the anthem each night before going to bed. Their audio was recorded over the phone and then mixed with Trump’s vocals by an audio engineer. The song was “produced by a major...

Publishers have reported that audiobook sales are up for the 10th straight year. Details of the increase come from the Audio Publishers Association’s (APA) Sales Survey conducted by InterQ. The survey shows how audiobook revenue in 2021 was $1.6 billion, marking a 25% increase and the tenth straight year of double digit growth. There were around 74,000 audiobooks sold in 2021, which is 6% more than in 2020.

US pending home sales rose 8.1% in January. At the same time, pending home sales declined -22.4% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis. So, YoY pending home sales growth has been negative for 19 of the last 20 months.

Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp continues to be the world's top-selling automaker, defending its title for a third straight year. The company recently said it sold 10.5 million vehicles in 2022. At the number 2 position is the Volkswagen Group that reported its lowest ever sales in over a decade earlier this month. The auto maker sold 8.3 million vehciles in 2022. The Ukraine war and Covid-19 lockdowns in China impacted the supply chains. Coming back to Toyota, its global sales - including truck unit Hino Motors and small-car maker Daihatsu, inched down 0.1% as record overseas sales of 8.6 million...