>>Retail Sales Down More Than Expected
(Washington, DC) -- Consumer spending is down more than expected. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that retail sales fell point-eight-percent last month. That was more than the point-one-percent decline economists anticipated. The drop in retail sales comes after December saw a point-four-percent jump during the holiday shopping season. This marks the worst month for retail sales since March of last year.
>>Microsoft Report Shows Adversaries Use AI For Offensive Cyber Operations
(Washington, DC) -- A new report shows that adversaries of the U.S. are using artificial intelligence for offensive cyber operations. Microsoft published the document in collaboration with OpenAI. It said Microsoft stopped threats aimed to exploit AI technology it developed. The company wrote that "Cybercrime groups, nation-state threat actors, and other adversaries are exploring and testing different AI technologies as they emerge." Microsoft said it's an attempt from U.S. adversaries to look into the security controls they need to go around.
>>SpaceX To Build $100M Office Complex In South Texas
(Brownsville, TX) -- SpaceX says it is going to build a 100-million dollar office and industrial complex at its Starbase in South Texas. Paperwork filed with the state shows the five-story, one-million-square foot facility will have offices and support a special-use industrial factory. Construction is set to begin February 23rd.
>>Lab Grown Diamond Sales Are Booming
(New York, NY) -- Over the past couple of years lab-grown diamonds have been mass-produced, throwing the natural diamond industry into a crisis and changing the way we shop for jewelry. According to the Gemological Institute of America, lab-grown diamonds have the same chemical and physical properties as the mined versions. In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission determined that lab-grown diamonds are, in fact, real diamonds, and do not need to be called, "synthetic." Since then, lab-grown sales shot up 38-percent, and can cost anywhere from 75-to-90-percent less than natural diamonds. De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer and distributor, has cut the price of mined stones by as much as 25-percent due to falling demand, and have launched a subsidiary brand, Lightbox, to offer luxury lab-grown diamonds.
>>Wendy's Adds Cinnabon To Breakfast Menu
(New York, NY) -- Wendy's is adding a sweet treat to its breakfast lineup from another fast food chain. Beginning February 26th, Wendy's will partner with Cinnabon to add a new baked good to its early menu called cinnamon pull-aparts. Editor-in-chief of trade publication Restaurant Business Jonathan Maze said it's common for fast food restaurants to partner with brands they may not consider direct rivals. It's a way to get the brand to "reach well beyond its existing store base," he said.
