>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning after Wall Street closed in the green on St. Patrick's Day. Stocks continued their comeback with the major averages building on Friday's rally. Investors largely shrugged off a weaker than expected February retail sales report ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting on interest rates. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 353 points to 41-841. The S&P 500 added 36 points to 56-75. The Nasdaq rose 54 points to 17-808.
>>Retail Sales Rise Slightly In February
(Washington, DC) -- Retail sales came in weaker than expected in February. The Commerce Department reported Monday that retail sales rose two-tenths percent for the month as consumer spending slowed. Online spending helped boost sales figures for the month with nonstore retailers reporting a nearly two-and-a-half percent gain. Consumer spending makes up about two-thirds of all economic activity in the U.S.
>>Fed Meeting
(Undated) -- The Federal Reserve opens a two-day meeting today with an interest rate decision looming tomorrow. Economists are not expecting a rate cut from the central bank at its second meeting of the year.
>>NCAA To Allow Athletes To Negotiate NIL Deals Before Enrollment
(Undated) -- The NCAA is agreeing to move on from its rule that prohibited athletes from negotiating the terms of name, image and likeness deals until after enrolling in school. The rule change is part of a legal settlement announced Monday between the NCAA and a group of state attorneys general. They had sued the organization in 2024, saying the rule violated federal antitrust law. The rule was put in place to attempt to keep schools and NIL collectives from using NIL deals in recruiting.
>>Forever 21 Files For Bankruptcy
(Los Angeles, CA) -- Forever 21 is going out of business. The clothing store company announced it filed for bankruptcy Sunday for the second time in six years. The retailer said it will conduct liquidation sales as it begins an "orderly wind-down" of business. Forever 21's chief financial officer said the company was unable to find a sustainable path forward as it faced competition from foreign fast fashion companies. The company's website says it currently has more than "540 locations globally and online."
>>Klarna To Replace Affirm As Walmart's Exclusive BNPL Provider
(Undated) -- The popular buy now, pay later provider Klarna has reached a deal to partner with the consumer finance app OnePay to replace Affirm as Walmart's exclusive provider of fast-credit installment loans. The move announced Monday came just after Klarna recently announced it had filed paperwork for its long-awaited initial public offering.
