Business
Business news from The Jolt Journal: the US economy, jobs, inflation, interest rates and tariffs, plus crypto policy and tech industry moves.
Business coverage here follows the economy as people meet it: jobs and wages, inflation and interest rates, tariffs and prices, earnings from the companies whose products are in most households, and the policy decisions that move all of it. The question behind each story is the same: what does this change for your pay, your prices or your plans.
A news story in this section adds something beyond the announcement. That means the figure in context (a 3.4% rise against what it was a year ago), what it means for a household or a small business in dollars, or the primary document the headline came from, linked inside the sentence. Earnings and data releases that would only repeat a company's own release are left to the companies.
Analysis pieces are labelled as analysis; opinion is labelled as opinion. Corrections are made in the story with a note.
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Discovery+ Price Increase: New $6.99 and $11.99 Plans Cost $12 to $24 More a Year
The Discovery+ price increase lifts plans to $6.99 and $11.99 a month. Our math shows the added yearly cost and what switching tiers or pausing could save.
Latest in Business
Sprouts Cuts 2026 Profit Outlook About 10% as Traffic Falls and the Stock Sinks 23%
Sprouts earnings missed by two cents, but the bigger problem is a 2026 profit outlook cut of about 10%, falling store traffic and a CEO handoff.
Fortinet Beats Q3 Estimates and Raises Guidance, but Shares Plunge Over Slower Service Revenue
Fortinet earnings beat estimates and the 2026 outlook went up, yet the stock fell about 22% on a $40 million trim to the service revenue forecast.
Samsung Record Profit: 107.4 Trillion Won in Q3 as Memory Chips Carry the Company
Samsung's preliminary third-quarter operating profit of about 107.4 trillion won is a record for a Korean company, driven by memory chips, while its device business is expected to…
Microsoft Earnings: Azure Grows 48% and Net Income Jumps 32% in the First Quarter of Fiscal 2027
Microsoft reported $92.3 billion in revenue, up 19%, with Microsoft Cloud at $63.9 billion and Azure growing 48%, and new segment reporting that groups the business around agents…
Alphabet Q3 Earnings: Google Cloud Revenue Doubles to $30.7 Billion, but Spending Pushes Free Cash Flow Negative
Alphabet's revenue rose 25% to $127.6 billion and Google Cloud more than doubled, but capital spending of $51.4 billion left free cash flow at negative $9.1 billion and…
ONEOK Raises 2026 Guidance After Third-Quarter Net Income Jumps to $1.35 Billion
ONEOK reported third-quarter net income of $1.35 billion and raised its 2026 outlook. A $336 million one-time tax benefit flatters the headline, and the company's filing does not…
TSMC Reportedly Weighs Chip-Packaging Price Hikes of Up to 20%: What Is Confirmed and What Is Not
Taiwanese outlets report TSMC may raise CoWoS packaging prices by as much as 20% and wafer prices by 3% to 6% from January. TSMC has not confirmed either;…
Schneider Electric PTC Acquisition: $22.6 Billion Cash Deal Explained
Schneider Electric will pay $205 a share in cash for PTC, valuing the industrial software maker's equity at about $22.6 billion. The deal is expected to close by…
Patrick Industries Reaffirms LCI Merger After Monomoy Makes an Unsolicited Offer for LCI
Patrick Industries says LCI told it that Monomoy Capital Partners made an unsolicited, nonbinding proposal to buy LCI. Patrick is sticking with the all-stock merger; LCI's board has…
Salesforce to Buy Braze for $47.50 a Share in Cash: What the $5.66 Billion Deal Includes
Salesforce agreed to buy Braze for $47.50 per share in cash, a deal with an enterprise value of about $5.66 billion that is expected to close in Salesforce's…