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President Donald Trump’s administration is reconsidering federal approval of Avangrid’s planned New England Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, according to a court filing on Wednesday. The legal maneuver is the latest move by U.S. authorities to stymie development of offshore wind energy, which Trump has called ugly, expensive, and unreliable. Last week, the administration also said it was reconsidering approval of SouthCoast Wind, another planned Massachusetts project. Attorneys for the Department of Justice said they would move by October 10 to vacate the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval of the New England Wind construction and operations plan. The filing came in a lawsuit brought earlier this year in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by local groups and individuals opposed to offshore wind development. The suit alleges the government violated federal environmental laws by approving the project. Avangrid, which is owned by Spanish power company Iberdrola, declined to comment. New England Wind was approved by former President Joe Biden’s administration in 2024. The project, once built, was expected to be able to produce enough electricity to power 900,000 homes. Representatives for ACK for Whales, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment. By Nichola Groom and Laila Kearney, Reuters
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E-Commerce
U.S. consumers, particularly Gen Z, are likely to spend significantly less on the holidays this year, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers survey. For PwC’s 2025 Holiday Outlook, the consulting firm polled about 4,000 consumers nationwide between June and July, and found shoppers expect to spend 5.3% less than in 2024, or about $1,552 per person. It’s the first notable drop since 2020when average spending fell 7.6%, to $1,187. That’s not all. Some 84% of Americans expect to cut back over the next six months, particularly when it comes to eating out (52%), clothes (36%), and big-ticket items (32%)as a result of rising prices and tariffs (especially on electronics, apparel, toys, food, and household staples)and the overall high cost of living. More than half of those surveyed said increased prices will likely affect what they decide to purchase, making value a defining theme of the 2025 holiday season. Gift spending is expected to take the biggest hit, down 11% to an average of $721, from $814 in 2024while people continue to spend on travel and entertainment, at an increase of 1%. Gen Z holiday spending expected to drop sharply PwC expects the sharpest decline in shopping to come from Gen Zers, who say they expect to reduce their holiday spending by a whopping 23%, leaving retailers to compete over fewer dollars. However, the good news for retailers is that millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers are expected to spend about the same as last year, possibly slightly more. What shoppers are looking for this holiday season More than a good deal, consumers are seeking value and brands they feel “get” them this holiday season. As with all forecasts, it’s worth noting this survey took place in June and July, during a period of high uncertainty over tariffs, and that purchasing behavior could always change between now and December, along with the economic climate and outlook.
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E-Commerce
Wall Street is steadying on Wednesday as Alphabet and other technology stocks rise. The S&P 500 added 0.3% and was on track to break its two-day losing streak since setting its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 179 points, or 0.4%, as of 12:32 p.m. ET, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% higher. Googles parent company was one of the strongest forces lifting the market and climbed 8.7% after avoiding some of the worst-case scenarios in its antitrust case. A federal judge on Tuesday ordered a shake-up of Googles search engine but did not force a sale of its Chrome browser. Because Alphabet is one of Wall Streets most valuable companies, its stock movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes than the typical companys. Also helping to steady Wall Street was a calming bond market. A day earlier, rising yields for government bonds around the world raised the pressure on the stock market. Yields climbed on worries about governments abilities to repay their growing mountains of debt, as well as concerns that President Donald Trumps pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut short-term interest rates could lead to higher inflation in the long term. Such worries have pushed investors to demand higher yields in order to lend money to governments worldwide. And when bonds are paying more in interest, investors are less likely to pay high prices for stocks, which are riskier investments. On Wednesday, Treasury yields retreated following the latest report on the U.S. job market coming in weaker than expected. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.21%, from 4.28% late Tuesday, for example. The report showed that U.S. employers were advertising 7.2 million job openings at the end of July, fewer than economists had forecast. The number bolsters the growing sense on Wall Street that the job market may be ossifying into a low-hire, low-fire state. A weakened job market could push the Federal Reserve to cut its main interest rate for the first time this year at its next meeting, which is scheduled for later this month. Thats the widespread expectation among traders. Lower interest rates could give the job market and overall economy a boost, along with prices for investments. The downside is that they can also push inflation higher when Trump’s tariffs may be set to raise prices for all kinds of imports. Trading on Wall Street was mixed outside of tech stocks, which benefited from the Alphabet ruling. Apple rose 3% after analysts highlighted how the ruling will still allow it to sign lucrative search deals with Google. This is a relief, an outcome that is much better than feared for Google and for Apple,” according to Chris Marangi, co-chief investment officer of value at Gabelli Funds. Macys jumped 17.1% for one of the markets bigger gains after the retailer reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The owner of Bloomingdales delivered the best growth in an important measure of sales in three years, and it also raised its forecasts for sales and profit this fiscal year. American Bitcoin, a bitcoin treasury and mining company linked to the Trump family, shot up 28.1% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq after completing a merger with Gryphon Digital Mining. Movements for its stock were so frenetic that trading was halted several times in the day’s first hour, and it more than doubled at one point. Campbell’s rose 4.9% after the company behind the Goldfish and V8 brands reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said, though, that customers are continuing to be increasingly deliberate and that tariffs may help drag its overall earnings lower in its upcoming fiscal year. On the losing end of Wall Street was Dollar Tree, even though the retailer reported better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. A chunk of its stronger-than-expected performance came because of the timing of tariffs, which could drag down its results in the current quarter. Analysts also said expectations were high for the value retailer coming into its report. Its stock fell 7.1%, slicing into its gain for the year that came into the day at a stellar 48.6%. In stock markets abroad, European indexes ticked higher following a weaker finish across much of Asia. Japans Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% amid uncertainty about the political future of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. By Stan Choe, AP business writer AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed.
Category:
E-Commerce
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