>>Coming Up Today
(Undated) -- Coming up today, we'll get a look at the latest data on consumer credit. All eyes will also be on earnings results from the likes of Walt Disney, Reddit, Lyft and Virgin Galactic. Earnings from Airbnb and Uber follow on Wednesday. Weekly jobless are due Thursday with most analysts expecting a slight uptick in the number of first-time requests for unemployment benefits. The week winds up with preliminary data on consumer sentiment.
>>FAA Opens New Probe Into Boeing 787 Jets
(Washington, DC) -- The FAA is opening a new probe into Boeing's 787 Dreamliner jets. The agency said Boeing informed it last month that employees may not have completed required inspections on the planes. The investigation will look to determine if the inspections happened "and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records." Boeing will conduct inspections on 787 jets that are still in the production process while also coming up with a plan for planes already in service. Boeing has faced increasing scrutiny for a number of incidents involving its planes this year.
>>Company Fined For Child Labor
(Somerville, TN) -- A Tennessee-based cleaning company will pay almost 650-thousand-dollars in penalties after employing at least two dozen children at slaughtering and meat-packing facilities. The Labor Department announced the deal Monday with Fayette Janitorial Service. An investigation earlier this year found that the children, some as young as 13, were put on overnight sanitation shifts at meat plants in Iowa and Virginia.
>>American Food Brands Lose Market Share
(New York, NY) -- Some of America's best-known food brands are losing market share as consumers use their wallets to rebel against rising food costs. Fast-food prices in March were 33-percent higher than 2019 levels, according to the Labor Department, while grocery prices were up 26-percent. The pushback from consumers is prompting some food companies to shift their strategies. McDonald's and Starbucks plan to launch more promotions, while snack company Mondelez said it would offer pricing specials and smaller package size. Food manufacturer Kellanova said they're promoting large pack sizes at the beginning of the month, when consumers have the most cash on hand, and smaller ones toward the end of the month. U.S. fast-food traffic declined three-point-five percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year.
>>American University To Offer Economics Course Centered On Taylor Swift
(Washington, DC) -- A new American University course aims to put a new spin on the impact of music superstar Taylor Swift. A one-credit class called "Swiftonomics" will be offered this fall after a contest to create a new student-designed course. The class will examine Swift's career through concepts such as supply and demand, market power and gender-based economics. It will look at her music releases, her recent "Eras" tour and her success as a woman in a male-dominated industry. The course has already generated enough interest to raise interest in offering it again in future semesters.
