Welcome to this week’s Fortune Gulf Brief. Regular readers might notice a different author byline today, that’s because Melissa is taking a well-earned break although, knowing journalists, probably with one eye on her phone and what’s happening in the Gulf. Ordinary service resumes next week. Until then, I’m Inzamam Rashid, international journalist and broadcaster based
The news traveled quickly across Nike’s sprawling headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. Elliott Hill was coming back. Employees high-fived. An audible cheer could be heard in parts of Nike’s 400-acre campus. Current and former employees lit up group chats and social media. On Wall Street, investors joined the celebration, sending Nike shares up roughly 8% in
In 2014, Annabel, 40, and Emily Lui, 47, were down to their last £15,000 after a promising start to their bakery side hustle suddenly fell apart. The British sisters had built Cutter & Squidge in 2012 around their signature Biskies and landed accounts with two of London’s biggest department stores, but just as they hired
When the US consumer is weakening, Walmart is usually one of the last dominoes to fall. When economic conditions get tough, low-income shoppers rely on it even more. It’s also become a destination for higher-income consumers looking to cut costs. That’s what made Walmart’s first comparable-sales loss in six years particularly hard to swallow on
Futures are mixed ahead of a big week for major retailers as new questions emerge about the state of the U.S. consumer, a major engine powering the American economy. The S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.2%. Nasdaq futures gained 0.5%. U.S. stocks hit an all-time high last week despite some
SpaceX stock rose on Monday to reclaim an important milestone: its $135 IPO price. The stock jumped back above that threshold on Monday, rising to close 4% higher at $138.74 after struggling to mount a decisive gain early in the session. Shares are up more than 25% in August, and a 15% rally on Friday