Consumer prices rise 2.7% annually in July, less than expected amid tariff worries at CNBC   3 dead in shooting at Austin Target parking lot - Suspect arrested at KVUE ABC. "Davis said the suspect, a 32-year-old man with a history of mental health issues, fled the scene in a stolen car, then wrecked that car and stole another car. He was later taken into custody in South Austin after a Taser was used." Read more   Today on NBC Today show: Why Grocery Store Chain Aldi Has a Cult-Like Following "NBC’s Stephanie Gosk reports for TODAY on how [...]

  Costco July comp sales (ex. fuel & f/x) up 7.0%:   ...US +6.5%/Canada +9.1%/Other Int'l +7.5%/Ecom +14.9% "...net sales of $20.89 billion for the retail month of July, the four weeks ended August 3, 2025, an increase of 8.5 percent from $19.26 billion last year. Net sales for the first 48 weeks were $248.35 billion, an increase of 8.1 percent from $229.81 billion last year." Press release   Just return it: "Rent the runway” mindset is only spreading at USA Today. "A Costco employee who has worked with the company in multiple states says trees, inflatables and other holiday decor [...]

  Fortune Announces 2025 Fortune 100 Most Powerful People in Business List Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO, NVIDIA Satya Nadella, CEO and Chairman, Microsoft Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Chairman, and Founder, Meta Elon Musk, CEO and Cofounder, and other roles, Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, and others Wang Chuanfu, CEO, Chairman, and Founder, BYD Sundar Pichai, CEO, Alphabet (Google) Ren Zhengfei, CEO and Founder, Huawei Technologies Sam Altman, CEO and Cofounder, OpenAI Jamie Dimon, CEO and Chairman, JPMorgan Chase Mary Barra, CEO and Chair, General Motors   ...Retail Power (Jassy #13 / Bezos #18 / McMillon #19) Fortune Top 100 list Fortune subs. [...]

  CVS beats Wall Street estimates in Q2 at Yahoo Finance. "...reported $98.9 billion in revenue, compared to estimates of $94.6 billion, and up 8.4% year over year. The adjusted earnings per share of $1.81 were above estimates of $1.46." Read more   EBay stock surges on earnings beat, rosy guidance at CNBC. "GMV, or the dollar value of items sold, grew 6% year over year to $19.5 billion. That topped analysts’ projected $18.9 billion..." Read more   Autonomous trucks are now driving highways at night, hauling food and dairy between Dallas and Houston at WSJ. "Aurora said its system [...]

  Fortune announces 2025 Fortune Global 500 List - Walmart is No. 1 for the 12th consecutive year - Amazon No. 2 Press release | Fortune List (subs.)   The Trump Organization sued Amazon, eBay and Walmart sellers, accusing them of peddling knockoff merchandise promoting President Trump at CNBC   Welcome to the Grocery Store Where Prices Change 100 Times a Day at WSJ. "It is only a matter of time before Americans also see dynamic pricing on groceries, industry experts say. “All one has to do is visit the Netherlands or Norway,” says Ioannis Stamatopoulos, an associate professor who [...]

  Why Walmart Is Overhauling Its Approach to AI Agents at WSJ. "It became very clear that we could dramatically simplify,” said Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s chief technology officer and chief development officer. “If I have an agent that helps you with your payroll and I have a different agent that helps you with identifying merchandising trends, you shouldn’t have to remember that and switch between those two.” WSJ subs.   ...Walmart Taps Instacart Executive to Lead Its AI Ambitions at WSJ. "...hired Daniel Danker, an executive at Instacart, as the head of global AI acceleration, product and design. Danker will [...]

  After Pledging to Keep Prices Low, Amazon Hiked Them on Hundreds of Essentials at WSJ. "The Journal’s analysis of prices from e-commerce data firm Traject Data found that while Amazon’s price rose on 1,200 of its cheapest household goods, competitor Walmart lowered prices on the same items by nearly 2%." WSJ subs.   Coca-Cola reports weakening global sales volumes in second quarter at AP. "Coca-Cola reported better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter as higher prices offset weaker sales volumes. Case volumes fell 1% globally and 1% in North America, but Coke said Tuesday that pricing rose 6% for the April-June [...]

  Walmart is cutting hundreds of store-support roles: Report at CNBC. "...eliminating the market coordinator job that supports some managers...These coordinators are considered to be corporate positions, assisting market managers, who are responsible for supervising roughly a dozen store managers each...also cutting some coach and coordinator roles at Walmart Academy..." Read more   Couche-Tard drops offer to buy Japanese 7-Eleven c-stores at AP. "In the letter, sent to media Thursday and signed by its two top executives, including founder Alain Bouchard, Couche-Tard expressed exasperation at the response it was getting from Seven & i despite repeated attempts at dialogue." Read [...]