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Trump says Greenland deal is coming, tariffs off

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  The diplomatic temperature lurched closer to Alpine cool in Davos yesterday amid signs of progress in resolving the transatlantic tiff over President Trump’s aspiration to acquire Greenland. Trump announced that he had reached a “framework of a future deal” with NATO head Mark Rutte at the World Economic Forum (WEF) regarding Denmark’s Arctic territory. He also said that he was nixing his promised tariffs against European allies, which had rankled investors and the Continent’s political leaders earlier this week. Trump said the agreement involves his proposed “Golden Dome” intercontinental missile defense system and shared control of the rare earth minerals contained within the icy landmass. Investors cheer détente The prospect of a Greenland handshake spurred markets to continue climbing out of a swoon, which was fueled Tuesday by the widening rift between Washington and Europe. The recovery began earlier in the day, when Trump told the Davos crowd that he wouldn’t use force to...
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Companies are getting their huge tariff refunds

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  Much like when you forget about your Venmo balance for a few months to trick yourself into feeling flush, corporations are reveling in speedy tariff refunds to pad their quarterly earnings. ICYMI: The Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on almost every US trading partner in February, and since then, importers have been clamoring to get their cash back. Of the $166 billion in tariffs SCOTUS nixed, $129 billion in refunds had been approved as of the end of July. So, what companies got the biggest checks? Over 40 members of the S&P 500 reported a combined $9.6 billion in refunds last quarter: Apple leads the pack at $2.2 billion in refunds. The tech giant said the payout contributed about 5% of Q2’s per-share earnings, boosting it by about 11 cents. Ford was refunded $1.3 billion. Nike received $986 million, FedEx got $800 million, and Amazon collected $640 million. But you probably won’t get your money back. Some companies have promised to pass the ...
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Camp styles of the rich and the famous

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  Traditionally, sleepaway summer camps have been places to connect with nature, make boondoggle bracelets, and shower in your swimsuit. But that’s not all that they have to be, especially if your parents can afford to send you to a luxury camp. Amenity now: Luxury camps can run as much as $17,000 for the summer, so they don’t scrimp on the nice-to-haves . For example, Brant Lake Camp in upstate New York offers: Fifteen tennis courts (11 of which are clay), 11 basketball courts, and a covered roller hockey rink. A fully stocked weight room, a 30-foot climbing wall, and a ninja course. A woodshop, a clay studio, a ceramics room, and podcasting classes. Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh. We need more sushi, for the grotto Don’t expect today’s luxury campers to get by on just gorp and Eggs Erroneous. They’re eating farm-to-table, scratch-made meals. Sometimes, they even help grow the produce in on-site, organic gardens. But if omelets, daily salad bars, and fresh-baked cakes aren’t enough, ...
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Shoppers are still spending on expensive dairy products amid inflation

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  Don’t freak out, but two years ago you ate 6.8 pounds of butter. Not all in one sitting, but still. Americans consumed a record amount of butter (and a ton of other dairy products) in 2024, according to the most recent data from the USDA. And dairy analysts only expect that number to keep growing. One of the creamy culprits driving this demand? Luxury butter. From grocery store brands like Kerrygold to $60-per-pound Vermont farm butter, expensive butter is something shoppers have been splurging on in the last few years while opting for cheaper options in other categories. The trend can be chalked up to a few things: Americans’ high-priced dairy tastes may stem from their pandemic-era baking obsessions. A move away from ultra-processed ingredients like margarine. With grocery item costs up everywhere, even $10 butter feels like a reasonable little treat. Whatever happened to a nice T-shirt? American tourists are also snapping up French butter on vacation. Parisian Retailer La Gr...
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Victoria’s Secret is changing its ticker to VSXY

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  Sex sells, but now it also trades: Victoria’s Secret & Co is changing its ticker to “VSXY” on the New York Stock Exchange. The vanity-plate-style makeover is part of a turnaround effort by CEO Hillary Super, who took the job in 2024 to steer the brand back to its former glory as the sexiest place at the mall. Super said the update will represent a “new era of sexy” for Victoria’s Secret. On June 2, “VSCO” will be retired like a pair of sequined, fold-over Pink yoga pants. Victoria’s Secret peaked in the late 2010s before its swift nosedive in popularity: In its 2019 fiscal year, right before its sales faltered, the brand commanded almost one-third of the bra market, and the company brought in $8.1 billion in annual revenue. Since then, new brands like Savage X Fenty, Skims, and American Eagle have scooped up market share with more inclusive branding, while Victoria’s Secret faced scandals and struggled with an identity crisis as it tried to move forward. By 2024, the brand ...
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Shunning the sun is cooler than ever

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  Not to sound like a high school administrator desperate to enforce the dress code, but sometimes showing less skin—not more—is actually the coolest thing you can do. Just ask the fashion-forward trendsetters increasingly skipping skimpy clothing in favor of something even hotter this summer: UV protection. Massive cover-up Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) clothing is on a hot streak . The trend was on display when actress Anne Hathaway donned a full-body swimsuit on vacation and Kendall Jenner was spotted in a UV-blocking dress. Do the clothes actually work? According to dermatologists , yes. UPF clothing can help prevent sunburn, slow down the aging process, and protect against skin cancer. According to CNN, they’re not just popular with celebrities: UV apparel at US activewear brands was up 12% year-over-year in May, the retail firm EDITED found. This year, 34% of full-price UPF items have sold out—up 11.4 percentage points from last year, per consumer trend forecaster WGSN...
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McDonald’s might have a huge dossier on you

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  Ba-da-ba-ba-ba: Release the files—the McDonald’s loyalty program files. After requesting a copy of his data from the burger chain, a Wired journalist received a 515-page file on his McDonald’s habits that was far more detailed than expected, he wrote this week. According to Wired’s Reece Rogers: The McDonald’s loyalty program tracks purchase behavior, like favorite menu items and most-visited locations, which is apparently fairly standard. The “concerning” part was how McDonald’s used this data to predict how often he’d visit in the future, what he’d spend, what he’d order, and the likelihood that he’d stop being a customer (0%). “We use information such as past purchases to provide a more engaging, personal customer experience,” a McDonald’s spokesperson told Wired. The loyalty program’s 210 million active users are also the “single most important digital metric” for McDonald’s, its CFO said earlier this year. Zoom out: The average US consumer belongs to more than 15 loyalty...
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